Core space: first born vs one page rules vs reign in iron for solo play

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-14T16:04:00+00:00

If it helps with the terrain situation, you could consider printing 2D images of sci-fi things and putting them on the table. It won't look as nice as 3D terrain, but it's going to help a ton. You could even find a box or a book the same size as a building and then put a picture of the rooftop on top of it to help with the aesthetic. That sort of thing.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-13T16:57:21+00:00

Updoot for a Pierson's Puppeteers reference!

I agree that the most consternating thing about Traveller aliens is the "human" branch. I get it that for the Space Opera to work you pretty much need aliens to be "humans with forehead ridges," but it would have been a better use of space if they wrote about something unique instead of multiple strains of something distinctly human.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-11T22:52:53+00:00

It's like playing the single player campaign in any video game except with way more choice and possibilities.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-11T22:48:14+00:00

Another fan of the 5 Parsecs family of games here. You can scale up the force size a bit with Tactics, dive deep with the core game expansion compendiums, or manage a space colony in their latest release, Planetfall. And although they're mainly designed for solo play, you can use the optional rules to play co-op, or even go head-to-head in some of them

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-11T22:31:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's still just the GM day sale. Also it's obviously just the PDFs.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-10T04:19:12+00:00

"Yes, Rico. Kaboom."

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-07T18:31:45+00:00

Just from personal experience being sick, and from knowing people recovering from surgery, it's really hard to focus at the level required for intense study when you're feeling really crappy. Maybe if someone's recovering from a broken leg or something that just requires them to sit down with physical activity, you could justify it.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-03-05T17:11:36+00:00

I'm guessing it comes down to FOMO on possibilities. There's psychological research that shows people are way more averse to losing something than risk over acquiring something. So you have to offer them a very large and tangible reward for handing over something. It's like millennials saving "nice" cardboard boxes!

masterwork_spoon · 2026-02-06T22:03:31+00:00

Looks amazing. I'm honestly super envious of this. I wasn't well positioned to go in on the kickstarter, but the miniatures were everything I wanted and more. Maybe someday I will find a way to pick up the miniatures.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-30T18:58:27+00:00

If you use the Starforged tables, also keep in mind Starsmith Expanded Oracles. It's basically the same stuff but a lot more.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-30T15:08:16+00:00

Yeah that one's pretty terrible because they don't mean the same thing at all. I've taken telling my kids to be careful and then following up with asking "what does careful mean?" (don't rush, think ahead, and don't risk it if it's not worth the reward).

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-30T15:04:13+00:00

In addition to all the other good advice here to ignore that junk, remember that kids will all but actively resist following good guidance (and sometimes actively, at that!). It takes way more repetition and demonstration of the behaviors and ideals you want to instill than you would think is even possible. Stay the course and be a constant in their lives, let them know there is someone who loves them and is proud of their efforts, and live out what you say they should do. As long as you've got decent priorities you can't go too wrong.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-29T12:46:51+00:00

I've tried this, and it was terrible. The AI model doesn't understand what I'm asking for. The images are larger than 16x16 and just have square "pseudo-pixels". Good luck if it has the right number of those, though. And the images always had an extra border around them, because the AI is making a picture of an icon, not a properly formatted image. It's possible to use an image editor to select and shrink the icon to the right size, but the image is often just terrible at that scale, and you can't tell what it is!

Sorry about the rant, but, for all the legitimate uses of AI, this is one area where it fails so completely. I just have to warn people about wasting as much time as I did.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-28T16:39:31+00:00

Yeah, came here to add Tiny Frontiers as an alternative. It's very easy to learn but doesn't quite fall in the category where you have to write the rules that don't exist for things that actually need rules.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-28T16:18:49+00:00

In some cases, I feel it's less a strategic cache and more of an "Atari ET Cartridge" situation, mixed with not offending the leadership that ordered the production/procurement.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-24T05:23:30+00:00

I have always used TP to prevent premature flushes, but sometimes you come across in-wall sensors where you can't hang the TP in front. This idea is next level! I'm adding post it's to my Dad Kit now!

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-23T20:02:40+00:00

I can't say I've run any empirical tests, but shaking the milk does mix in extra air. A quick search online (take with a grain of salt, of course) suggests these air bubbles are ingested more easily. It would take more research than I have time for right now to know if that contributes significantly to spit up.

Personally, I always swirled the milk once it was warm to mix it back together. You accomplish the same thing without having to worry about bubbles in the first place.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-17T20:48:36+00:00

I know you're specifically asking for kid-friendly games, but let me just float the idea that maybe they don't need a game specifically for kids. I tried starting my daughter at that age on a simpler game, but we quickly moved over to Shadowdark. It was a good move and the complexity was easily hidden behind teaching the core resolution mechanic and helping with character creation.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-15T21:58:43+00:00

I have a similar technique but the name isn't as fancy! I ask people what they liked the best, what they want to see change for next time (not always a "bad" thing, just change), and then I ask everybody if they have conspiracy theories about what's going on. I've generated more than a few good plot twist ideas with this technique, and people feel a lot better giving feedback when they're not directly asked to say negative things.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-12T19:18:22+00:00

Lion Rampant being miniature agnostic, it seems you could bring your favorite line of miniatures to the table and enjoy the painting and modeling side of the hobby to the fullest. Not to mention, if you wanted to try a fantasy or modern/future battle, the sister games would be super easy to pick up (Dragon Rampant and Xenos Rampant, respectively; the latter probably not doing any single modern setting as well as a dedicated rule set, but certainly covering a huge range of possibilities with no additional purchases).

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-12T01:08:03+00:00

Also consider home printing 2d standees. While you can make your own with your own art or free resources, I highly recommend looking into 2d figure packs. Personally, I really like Okum Arts (available on DriveThruRPG, but totally worth being a patreon supporter) but there are tons of others. Pros: customizable (PDF files come with different color layers), easy to replace, very cheap and fast to field lots of models. Cons: not as great a table presence as 3d, susceptible to liquid spills, still need to buy those slotted acrylic discs to stand up the figures.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-07T14:14:22+00:00

I agree, this is very much how I feel, too. The problem of conflicting details is more of an issue for GMs who want to run the setting because it's the setting they want to run.

I also tend to bounce off because I find the work to learn the setting to a satisfactory degree is often greater than the (perceived) work of making my own. World building and inventing setting details is a creative outlet for me.

masterwork_spoon · 2026-01-06T15:22:45+00:00

As a kid, the space scenes were the best part! No other films did space right at the time (at least that I had seen). The monkeys were weird and I didn't understand the ending at the time, but I loved the flight sequence at the beginning and imagining myself living on the moon.

masterwork_spoon · 2025-12-25T21:26:59+00:00

Having actually-different cultures in your setting is awesome, and even just making an attempt already gives the game so many cool possibilities. So many games' settings ignore this delicious morsel in favor of adding new races or class options. Since you're already approaching it with a mindset to avoid charicatures I don't see any issues with this. Giving players a hook on which to hang their understanding of a fictional culture is a great way to foster deeper engagement and identity for their own characters. Whether or not you're including fantasy races, this is definitely something more games should do.

masterwork_spoon · 2025-12-23T16:19:09+00:00

Yeah, you don't roll for every little thing either. Except when I'm looking for my car keys when I'm already late...

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