Every great adventure is built from smaller pieces, modular components that GMs can mix, match, and modify to create unique and engaging stories. Think of these building blocks as your creative toolkit: hooks to pull players into the action, scenes for roleplay and revelation, encounters for tension and combat, transitions to maintain momentum. This system give some broad rules of thumb for creating adventures:
the rules of thumb are meant to be deviated from but all official adventures will follow this format to provide consistent structure and pacing to sessions.
Every great adventure begins with a compelling hook that grabs your players’ attention and pulls them into the story. Start with an opening premise that sets the stage: perhaps a mysterious distress signal from a derelict spaceship, a sudden invasion by a hostile government, or a cryptic message from a shadowy figure promising untold riches. Summarize the job or mission clearly, giving the players a sense of purpose. Are they tasked with retrieving a stolen artifact, or are they fighting to liberate a colony from corporate tyranny? Hint at the rewards whether it’s criptoscrip or you can pick another reward form the rewards section. Define the mission type (e.g., rescue, heist, exploration, sabotage) and align it with the story’s genre. Will this be a pulse-pounding sci-fi horror mission aboard a haunted space station, a gritty war story set on a battlefield of futuristic warfare, or a political thriller filled with intrigue and betrayal? The hook is your chance to set the tone and ignite your players’ imaginations. Another helpful format is:
Scenes are those parts of your story and provide opportunities for roleplay, NPC interactions, and skill tests. Each scene should have a clear purpose, whether it’s advancing the plot, revealing critical information, or developing a character’s backstory. Scenes can be set in a specific location like a bustling spaceport, a crumbling temple, or the claustrophobic corridors of a malfunctioning space station or they can unfold during a transition, such as a tense conversation aboard a speeding hover-train or a quiet moment of reflection during hyperspace travel. To keep scenes dynamic and engaging, incorporate 1-3 building blocks from your toolkit. For example, you might combine NPC interactions (a mysterious informant sharing cryptic clues), skill tests (a hacking challenge to access restricted data), and environmental hazards (a sudden power outage plunging the area into darkness). Scenes are a chance to deepen immersion, challenge players creatively, and weave narrative threads together, making them a vital tool for crafting memorable moments in your sessions. Scenes should also be viewed as an optional encounter, assume players will fight and that way you can have a combat prepared.
Encounters are those action-packed parts of your story designed to bring tension, combat, and strategy to your sessions. Like scenes, encounters should have a clear purpose and be set in a specific location or during movement between locations. However, encounters focus on combat or high-stakes conflict, requiring you to identify key elements: the flash point (the immediate battle map where combat occurs), the AO (Area of Operation) (the surrounding zone that may influence the fight), and the theatre (the broader context or location, such as a city, planet, or starship).
Describe the environment in detail, including hazards like radiation or unstable terrain, available cover, interactive objects, items of interest, structural elements, wildlife, and other NPCs who may influence the encounter. Preparation for combat, the combat itself, and recovery afterward should all be emphasized, creating a full narrative arc. For example, players might scout the area, set traps, or negotiate with allies before the fight; engage in tactical combat using the environment to their advantage; and then deal with injuries, salvage gear, or regroup with allies afterward.
Encounters are recommended to include 1-3 building blocks, such as environmental hazards, NPC interactions, or skill tests, to add depth and variety. This structure ensures encounters are not just about combat but are immersive, strategic, and integral to the story.
Transitions are brief bookends—just one or two lines—that acknowledge a detail about the interaction just concluded and smoothly move the story to the next scene or encounter. They provide closure, reinforce character moments, and maintain narrative momentum.
Examples of Transitions:
Transitions serve to provide closure by signaling that a scene or encounter has concluded, while reinforcing themes by echoing the emotional weight or key details of what just happened. They maintain momentum by bridging gaps without unnecessary description, set tone by carrying the mood forward into the next beat of the story, and create continuity by reminding players of consequences, relationships, or unresolved threads. Use transitions between scenes in an act, after encounters (combat or otherwise), following significant NPC interactions, when moving between locations, after major revelations or plot twists, and to punctuate emotional moments.
Tasks are the broad goals and objectives players can accomplish, blending narrative direction with mechanical execution. They can range from story-driven goals to system-based challenges, and understanding the different types helps GMs design engaging objectives for their players. In an adventure they describe a sequence of things that may or might not happen based on roleplay and mechanics.
Narrative Tasks focus on story progression and player choice. Examples include retrieving the data core from a crashed freighter, talking to Oracle-7 before the corporation silences her, delivering a package to the Jambles with no questions asked, finding out who betrayed the crew during a heist, or convincing a colony elder to hear Stennis out. These tasks prioritize roleplay, investigation, and player agency over mechanical complexity.
Mechanical Tasks emphasize system-based challenges and skill execution. Players might need to pass three collective Engineering tests to restore ship power, accumulate 500 Criptoscrip before debt collectors arrive, survive five rounds while a reactor stabilizes, achieve four successes in a contested negotiation with a syndicate, or gather ten units of pillarite from an excavation site. These tasks test character capabilities and resource management.
Hybrid Tasks combine both approaches for layered objectives. Players might infiltrate a facility and hack a terminal (Interfacing test) before reinforcements arrive (timer). They could rescue prisoners (narrative) while evading patrols (Stealth tests) and managing limited supplies (resource tracking). Another example is earning a faction's trust (RP) by completing three jobs for them (mechanical) and delivering a rival's head (narrative), or escaping a collapsing station (timed skill tests) with a manifest intact (narrative objective).
When designing tasks, keep these tips in mind: be clear so players understand what success looks like; offer multiple paths to make tasks feel player-driven; layer mechanics by combining skill tests, resources, and narrative for depth; and always attach stakes so failure means something, whether a worse position, lost opportunity, or a new complication.
The primary way to create challenges for players is to use skill tests. Skill tests will require a character to a number of successes with the aim of meeting or beating a difficulty score for a particular skill based interaction (see rolling tests). The difficulty of these tests will be determined by you and you can appraise difficulty with following DS scale:
You can if you desire disregard this scale and set even harder challenges but be aware that to meet these harder skill tests the player with either have to have very large XP pools, quality equipment or a strong grassy of how to get the most of their character build. It is also important that you reward creativity and roleplay. For instance if a player describes how they carefully go about creating a fishing weir, then you might add 2 bonus die to their survival test. Or if a player is giving a moving speech you might give them 4 points to resolve bonus die.you should also afford players the opportunity to assist one another in tests, though a player must justify exactly how they are assisting.
Contests are a dynamic and flexible mechanic that can be used to resolve a wide variety of challenges in your sessions At their core, contests involve any kind of skill or attribute test, making them adaptable to other building blocks like Complex tasks or chore lists. In a contest, players roll against the GM, with the highest roll determining the outcome. This creates a sense of tension and unpredictability, as even a player’s success might be overshadowed by the GM’s higher roll, leading to partial victories or complications that inform later scenes or encounters. For example, a player might succeed in hacking a corporate database, but the GM’s higher roll could mean the corporation becomes aware of the breach, setting up a future confrontation. Contests are particularly well-suited for intrigue, business competition, and other non-violent stories, where direct combat isn’t the focus but the stakes are still high. They can also provide direct rewards, such as gaining Criptoscrip, securing an ally, or uncovering critical information. Additionally, contests are an excellent way for antagonist NPCs to be hostile or competitive without forcing a combat encounter, allowing for rich, narrative-driven conflicts that keep players engaged and invested in the story. Whether it’s a high-stakes negotiation, a race to decode an old earth artifact, or a battle of wits with a rival faction, contests add depth and excitement to your game
When designing a location, start by situating it within the cluster a specific region of space that humanity exists in. Is it in the lawless Jambles, the heavily fortified Core, or the uncharted frontier? Next, pinpoint its place within the system: is it on a barren desert planet, a bustling orbital station, or a moon orbiting a gas giant? Nearby astronomical bodies, like asteroid fields or a dying star, can add flavor and potential hazards. Then, zoom in on the specific area: name the location (e.g., “The Rusted Bazaar” or “Eclipse Station”) and describe nearby landmarks or points of interest. Consider who else is here are there settlements of colonists, squads of soldiers, or nomadic traders? What factions or superpowers hold influence here, and how does that shape the location’s culture and politics? Think about what’s in the location: is it a derelict research facility filled with ancient tech, a thriving market teeming with exotic goods, or a war-torn cityscape? Include details like languages spoken, wildlife (hostile predators, docile creatures, or strange species), and the environment (toxic atmosphere, extreme temperatures, or lush biomes). A well-crafted location feels alive, offering players a rich setting to explore and interact with.
When describing something in your session, focus on three vivid details that engage the senses and bring the scene to life. For example, if describing a foreign marketplace, you might highlight the sight of glowing neon signs in a dozen unfamiliar scripts, the smell of sizzling street food mixed with the acrid tang of engine exhaust, and the sound of merchants haggling in a cacophony of languages. If it’s a derelict spaceship, you could emphasize the touch of cold, damp metal underfoot, the sight of flickering holographic displays casting eerie shadows, and the sound of distant, echoing clangs that suggest something or someone is still aboard. For a lush jungle, describe the sight of bioluminescent plants pulsing softly in the dark, the feel of thick, humid air clinging to the skin, and the sound of unseen creatures chirping and rustling in the canopy. By weaving in sensory details, you create an immersive experience that draws players into the world and sparks their imagination.
Random encounter tables inject unpredictability into your sessions, transforming travel, downtime, or exploration into opportunities for emergent storytelling. Unlike planned encounters, these tables create a living world that exists independently of the players one where merchants travel trade routes, predators hunt, and factions scheme whether or not the party is there to witness it. When players roll, they're not just fighting random monsters; they're glimpsing the ecosystem of your setting in motion.
To build effective random encounter tables, start by defining the context: where and when will these encounters occur? A table for Jambles space lanes differs dramatically from one for Guinesston's jungles or Vardev's plagued streets. Each table should have 6 to 12 entries, mixing combat threats, neutral encounters, environmental phenomena, and roleplay opportunities. Consider using a d6 or 2 d6 with weighted results common occurrences like patrols or merchants appear more frequently than rare events such as ancient discoveries or faction assassins.
Structure each entry with a brief setup and a question or prompt that gives the encounter direction. For example: "A drifting cargo pod with emergency beacons still active. What does salvage scanning reveal?" or "Three armed figures dragging an unconscious colonist into the treeline. Do the players intervene or observe?" This approach turns random encounters from distractions into narrative possibilities.
Remember that random doesn't mean purposeless. Even spontaneous encounters should connect to your larger story or setting. A pirate attack might reveal the faction that's been raiding local shipping. A distressed merchant could mention rumors about the players' own recent actions. Strange wildlife might hint at the ecological crisis brewing in the background. Used well, random encounter tables make your world feel vast, interconnected, and alive while giving GMs a tool to fill unexpected gaps with meaningful content.
Acts are the larger structural units of your campaign, each representing a significant chapter in the story. To create a balanced and engaging act, it’s recommended to include 3 scenes and 3 encounters. Scenes provide opportunities for roleplay, character development, and narrative progression, while encounters introduce action, tension, and high-stakes challenges. For example, in Act 1, you might have a scene where players meet a mysterious informant in a neon-lit bar, a scene where they uncover a hidden conspiracy in a corporate database, and a scene where they negotiate with a faction leader for support. These could be paired with encounters such as a skirmish with bounty hunters in a crowded marketplace, a tense escape from a collapsing research facility, and a climactic battle against a rival faction’s forces. By alternating between scenes and encounters, you create a rhythm that keeps players engaged, balancing moments of introspection and strategy with bursts of action and excitement. Acts provide a clear framework for storytelling, ensuring each chapter feels cohesive and impactful while driving the overall narrative forward.
Player prompts are a way to engage characters with specific skills and reward their expertise while also serving as a tool for you to steer the narrative and hint at important details. When a player has a value of X or higher in certain skills, such as Interfacing, Detect, or Engineering, prompt them to test those skills when opportunities arise. For example, a character with high Interfacing might notice a hidden data port, while one with Detect could spot a faint trail of footprints, and a character skilled in Engineering might identify a malfunctioning generator before it fails. Successful skill tests reveal clues closely tied to the tested skill, such as uncovering a hidden message in a terminal, detecting a concealed enemy, or understanding how to repair a critical system. The initial value to trigger the prompt should be set low, ensuring players still need to roll for success rather than automatically succeeding. This mechanic encourages players to leverage their unique abilities, adds depth to the story by rewarding observation and expertise, and provides meaningful clues that drive investigation and problem solving, all while giving you a natural way to guide players toward key information or upcoming challenges.
When exploring an area, break it into sub-areas with brief descriptions or names, along with hazards, NPCs, and potential encounters. For example, a derelict starship might include:
Combine this with a map for clarity. Assign a time increment (e.g., 10 minutes per sub-area) for searching. Include skill tests to navigate or access areas, like using Engineering to bypass a locked door or Stealth to avoid detection. This structure works for ships, stations, settlements, buildings, or even entire regions, making exploration dynamic and engaging.
Exchanges between NPCs are a powerful tool to convey information, advance the story, or develop NPCs. These interactions can be influenced by players, such as eavesdropping or intervening, and are useful for more scripted moments. Keep dialogues brief and evocative, focusing on key points, and restate important takeaways for clarity. For example, two NPCs might argue about a missing shipment, hinting at a smuggling operation, or a scientist might nervously discuss an experiment gone wrong, foreshadowing a future threat. Sprinkle in prompts for skill tests, like using Detect to overhear a whispered detail or persuasion to persuade an NPC to reveal more. These exchanges enrich the narrative, provide clues, and deepen the world, making NPCs feel alive and integral to the story.
Player-led skill tests empower players to take initiative by asking if they can perform a specific skill test to achieve a desired result. For example, a player might ask, “Can I use my interfacing skill to bypass this security system and unlock the door?” or “Can I roll Detect to search for hidden traps in this corridor?” Players can also pitch their ideas through Chronicle Points, spending this resource to propose creative uses of their skills, such as using Engineering to rig a distraction or resolve to convince an NPC to reveal a secret. Player led skill test should be rewarded and encouraged as they make the game more engaging and make for more memorable moments.
Downtime actions allow players to make meaningful use of the quieter moments in your sessions, giving them opportunities to recover, grow, and prepare for future challenges. Manufacturing is a key downtime activity, enabling characters to craft gear, repair equipment, or build custom modifications using gathered materials. Treating conditions is another essential action, allowing players to heal injuries, cure syndromes, or recover from debilitating statuses through medical expertise or rest. Players can also attempt to acquire XP by training, studying, or reflecting on past experiences, often requiring skill tests to demonstrate their dedication. Skill tests can also be used to earn rewards, such as securing rare items, gaining Criptoscrip, or unlocking new opportunities. Additionally, downtime actions can provide narrative benefits, like forging alliances, uncovering secrets, or advancing personal storylines. For example, a character might use their Charisma to negotiate with a faction leader, gaining their support for a future mission, or employ their Intelligence to decode a mysterious data chip, revealing a hidden location. Downtime actions enrich the game by giving players agency during quieter periods and ensuring that every moment contributes to their progression and the unfolding story.
In a scene where your player have to get to a destination or wait for a period of time, break this journey into 3 steps, for each step have 3 details that players notice on these steps. Each step should feel meaningful and immersive, with three key details that players notice along the way. For example, in the first step, players arrive at the colony they have been sent to investigate, 1) they might observe the eerie silence of a deserted colony ,2) the faint hum of malfunctioning machinery, 3) and the flickering glow of broken neon signs. In the second step, players enter into the administrative building, 1) they could encounter signs of recent struggle scorch marks on the walls, 2) discarded weapons, 3) and a trail of strange, glowing fluid. Finally, in the third step, Players following the fluid take the elevator down the lowest level of the building, 1) they might hear distant, echoing footsteps, 2) spot a shadowy figure watching them from a distance, 3) and feel a sudden drop in temperature as they approach their destination. This structure keeps the journey engaging, allowing players to piece together clues, build tension, and feel the weight of their surroundings. By layering details, you create a vivid and memorable experience that feels alive.
Collective tests are a collaborative mechanic that requires players to work together to achieve a shared goal by reaching a set number of successes. This system is perfect for large, meaningful challenges that demand teamwork, such as repairing a damaged starship, infiltrating a heavily guarded facility, or rallying a community to resist a tyrannical force. The test can be resolved instantly, representing a quick group effort, or it can reflect a longer passage of time, such as days spent preparing for a mission or weeks building a settlement. Collective tests can be structured in several ways: they might be limited to one specific skill or attribute, requiring all players to roll the same test (e.g., everyone rolls knowledge to decrypt a complex code). Alternatively, they can allow multiple eligible skills to contribute (e.g., grit to move debris, Engineering to repair systems, and resolve to motivate the team). For even more creativity, encourage players to pitch how they contribute and then roll accordingly. Perhaps one character uses their interfacing skill to hack a door, while another uses subterfuge to disable security cameras. Collective tests foster teamwork, highlight individual strengths, and create memorable moments of shared triumph or failure, making them a versatile and engaging tool for your sessions.
A map visually represents an area, paired with a list of key elements like hazards, loot, NPCs, and environmental features. For example, a derelict space station map might show corridors and control rooms, with notes on system failures and threats. A city map could highlight markets and alleys, listing NPCs, security drones, and interactive objects. Maps enhance immersion, guide exploration, and make the world feel alive.
Environmental hazards are a powerful tool to challenge your players and add tension to your sessions. These hazards can take many forms: radiation zones that slowly drain health, corrosive acid pools that degrade equipment, or gravity anomalies that disorient and impair movement. They can inflict damage over time or instantly to the wounds of a player, break or disable crucial items, or apply statuses like paralysis, or exhaustion. More complex hazards might inflict physical or mental conditions or syndromes which are more complex combinations of these conditions. Aside from this environmental hazards can alter anything about a character exposed so long as it is avoidable and does not guarantee failure. Also, as a rule, avoid outright killing players with hazards unless it’s a deliberate and well-telegraphed consequence of their actions. Instead, hint at dangers through environmental cues: a faint hiss of escaping gas, a flickering warning light, or the charred remains of a previous victim. This encourages players to think creatively, use their skills, and work together to overcome the threat, making the encounter both challenging and rewarding.
Guidance is a focused building block that clarifies the purpose and direction of a scene or encounter, helping both the GM and players understand what's at stake and what is happening in the scene. While descriptions set the mood and mechanics resolve actions, guidance answers the essential question: "What is happening?"
For scenes, guidance should identify the primary function (revelation, character development, negotiation, investigation) and the key information or emotional beat that must land. It might note what NPCs want from the interaction, what players could miss if they're not paying attention, or how the scene connects to larger story threads. Scene guidance answers: What truth should emerge? What relationship should shift? What choice should players face by the end?
For encounters, guidance should define the tactical reality beyond just "kill the enemies." It might highlight environmental opportunities players could exploit, enemy motivations that affect behavior (are they fanatical, terrified, following orders?), or hidden objectives that could change the encounter's outcome. Encounter guidance answers: What makes this fight different? What could players learn or achieve beyond victory? How does the encounter serve the story?
Effective guidance is concise and actionable a few sentences that summarise "what happens" and "what matters."
Complex tasks are a collection of skill tests that sum together to create a climatic scene or encounter. An example might be the reactor of the players reactor is about to go into meltdown and players have to avert this crisis. To succeed the players will have to pass a set number of skill test out of predetermined total. In this example players have success in 3 out of 5 skill tests. If they fail the reactor goes critical and serious narrative or mechanical consequences ensue. Players can only complete 1 test per round, at the start of the round you inform them of the skill test required and narrative reason. For instance an NPC might say the emergency override is not responding and the players will have shut down the reactor manually by breaking into the reactors antechamber, you’d then indicate the must pass a DS 3 athletics test. To determine who takes the test roll a d6 a consult bellow:
Players may assist as normal in treating tasks. Success in Complex tasks should always be rewarding. This could be assets, criptoscrip or XP.
Loose ends are narrative hooks and unresolved threads left at the conclusion of an adventure, offering GMs flexible pathways to extend the story or pivot toward player-driven interests. These prompts anticipate player curiosity, factional consequences, or lingering threats, ensuring the world feels dynamic and reactive. Below are examples of loose ends to seed future sessions:
Recurring Threats
Player-Driven Hooks
You will find loose ends at the end of all official adventures but you yourself may consider them if your would like to create adventures for others to use or simply if you would like to try and anticipate directions you can continue and adventure in.
For creating NPC we recommend that you use examples from the threats section or a quick build array under the point buy section. This will keep their creation brief and ensure that they are not too strong or too weak. Especially potent NPCs will use the staline for a tier or multiple tiers above the player's current tier of play. We don't recommend adding abilities or talents to these NPCs until you are in a scene or an encounter with the players. This ensures that what they pick is relevant and will save time at NPC creation, instead leaving their talent XP unspent and their abilities unpicked. Its important to note that no matter how the NPC started they are still human and they can and will be killed with ease by vehicles in direct combat. For these reasons its important to have a back up NPC in mind to carry on the role of NPC should they die through player action or unlucky dice rolls. NPCs can benefit from GM chronicle point use; this primarily helps them be a bit more threatening and survive longer at a cost.
The “Average Joe NPC” NPC in the Armournaut setting has the following statline: 2’s in all the attributes, and 1’s in all the skills.
When creating NPCs, focus on vivid details that bring them to life. Start with physical descriptions: highlight three distinct traits, such as a jagged scar running across their cheek, glowing cybernetic eyes that flicker with every blink, or a patchwork coat made from salvaged materials. These details help players visualize the character and make them memorable. Next, define their personality with a clear direction for how they should be played. For example, “Play them as: gruff but kind-hearted, with a dry sense of humor,” or “Play them as: paranoid and secretive, always glancing over their shoulder.” This gives GMs a quick reference for roleplaying the character consistently. Finally, include a quote a line of dialogue that captures their essence and serves as an introductory hook. For instance, a smug smuggler might say, “You look like someone who needs a problem solved… discreetly,” while a battle-hardened veteran might growl, “I’ve seen too many good soldiers die out here. Don’t make me add you to the list.” These elements together create NPCs that feel real, engaging, and integral to your story.
| Category | Options/Examples |
|---|---|
| Role | Merchant, Guard, Noble, Scholar, Spy, Medic, Engineer, Pilot, Assassin, Diplomat |
| Personality | Charismatic, Stoic, Paranoid, Optimistic, Cynical, Honorable, Manipulative, Reckless |
| Motivation | Power, Survival, Revenge, Knowledge, Faith, Wealth, Loyalty, Redemption |
| Strength *(Pick 1-2)* | Melee, Athletics, Endurance, Demand, Survival, Piloting, Gunnery, Small Arms, Stealth, Knowledge (specify field), Insight, Interfacing, Engineering, Persuasion, Organization, Deceive, Subterfuge, Aid, Detect, Resolve |
| Weakness *(Pick 1-2)* | Poor Melee, Low Endurance, Unpersuasive, Technologically Illiterate, Weak Resolve, Unobservant (Low Detect), Frail (Low Athletics), Poor Survivalist |
| Appearance | Battle-scarred, prosthetics, Flamboyant attire, Ragged clothing, Uniformed, Hooded/mysterious |
| Voice | Gruff, Melodic, Mechanical (voice synth), Whispering, Booming, Nervous stutter |
| Secret | Double agent, War criminal, Fugitive, Former hero, Cursed, AI in a human body |
| Relationship with PCs | Mentor, Rival, Suspicious, Indebted, Old friend, Family tie, Wants them dead |
The concept of Known Unknowns is a powerful tool for crafting layered and intriguing NPCs. Start with what is known the surface-level details the NPC communicates through dialogue. This includes their tone, word choice, and the information they willingly share. For example, a corporate executive might speak in polished, calculated phrases, offering players a lucrative job while subtly hinting at the dangers involved. Next, consider the unknowns the context and hidden information that the NPC’s behavior and dialogue subtly reveal. Perhaps the executive’s nervous twitch or their insistence on meeting in a secure location hints at a deeper secret, like a rival corporation hunting them. Finally, embed hidden information for you as the GM, which players can uncover through investigation, roleplay, or skill tests. Maybe the executive is secretly working with a rebel faction, or they’re being blackmailed into betraying the players. Known Unknowns create depth, allowing NPCs to feel authentic and multi-dimensional while giving players opportunities to peel back the layers and discover the truth.
Mobs are very weak NPCs that are designed to be used primarily in groups for scenes and encounters. Mobs can consist of numerous individuals, often with lower individual stats but collectively dangerous due to their numbers. They are typically used to represent swarms, gangs, or units that act in unison. When in proximity have shared dice rolls. Each member of a group of mobs should have the same statline for the purposes of making skill tests, attacking, taking actions and being targeted by attacks or abilities. This ensures ease and speed of play. Mobs cannot benefit from chronicle points.
Mob Bonuses: mobs have bonus die in addition to their statline based on the size of the mob. They receive +1 bonus die for every 2 members in the mob for all tests. As they take casualties this bonus is adjusted according to their new size.
Mob Weapons: mobs should have the same weapons for ease and speed of play. This is additionally important because the roll 1 attack test for the entire mob. If a mob possesses another weapon this should be limited to one weapon per mob. Having 1 other weapon embedded in the mob means that players may have to kill their way to a bigger, more threatening weapon. It also means that the mob can have 1 member carry a weapon capable of damaging vehicles while the other carry more standard small arms.
Mob Abilities: Mobs may have special abilities or tactics depending on their nature. These should be reflected in their collective actions. For example, a swarm of critters might have a "Swarm Attack" ability that adds bonus damage under certain conditions.
Damage Distribution: When a mob takes damage, If the total damage exceeds the mob’s collective Wounds, reduce the number of enemies in the mob by 1 per wound death to the until no wounds remain to be allocated. When hit by weapons that affect an area each mob member in the affected area counts as being hit individually. If their resilience is exceeded the die, after these mob members have been removed then begin allocating wounds to the rest of the mob as normal.
Resolve test:
When a mob takes significant losses (e.g., 50% or more of its members), it should make a Resolve Test. The GM can determine the difficulty based on the situation. If the mob fails the test , it may retreat, surrender, or become disorganized.
Puzzles are features of the Armounuat web app that you can give players as tasks to complete a section. They break up consistent dice rolling and just provide another option for skill tests. Examples are listed bellow:
There are also more traditional ttrpg puzzles that you can have in your games, these focus more heavily on your description of the relevant puzzle pieces but can incorporate the digital puzzles as well as traditional skill tests and RP to solve.
A number of tasks that player can attempt over a period of time, each player elects something from the list that they are doing and then pitches an attribute test that describes how they are completing these tasks. Players gain a number of criptoscrip per success but may also receive other rewards. XP might be given for a chore list if it represents a large portions of times. The Chore List is a dynamic way to simulate downtime or extended periods of activity, allowing players to engage in tasks that reflect their characters’ skills and interests. Over a set period of time whether it’s a week of repairs on their starship, a month of working odd jobs on a space station, or a year of laying low after a heist each player selects a task from the list and pitches an attribute test to describe how they approach it. For example, a tech-savvy character might attempt to upgrade the ship’s systems by rolling for reason, while a charismatic character could negotiate better prices for supplies using cunning. Each success earns them Criptoscrip, providing a steady income, but additional rewards might also be granted, such as higher quality crafting resources, improved relationships with NPCs, or even unexpected plot hooks. If the Chore List represents a significant portion of time, consider awarding XP to reflect the characters’ growth and effort. This system not only keeps players engaged during slower periods but also encourages creativity and character development, making downtime as meaningful as the action-packed moments of your campaign.
Rewards are the lifeblood of progression and motivation in your sessions, offering players tangible and intangible benefits that enhance their journey. Criptoscrip, the in-game currency, allows them to purchase gear, upgrade their vehicles, or bribe their way out of trouble. Personal and vehicle equipment such as advanced weaponry, armour, or hull modifications gives them the tools to tackle greater challenges. Manufacturing resources can be used to craft more valuable items, vehicles, or equipment, fostering a sense of resourcefulness and self-sufficiency.
Vehicles themselves, from sleek personal craft to massive Heavy aerospace vessels, open up new possibilities for exploration, combat, and strategic mobility. XP fuels character growth, enabling players to improve skills and unlock new abilities over time. Narrative benefits, like gaining the trust of a powerful faction, uncovering a hidden truth, or securing a safe haven add depth to the story and provide long-term advantages that mechanical rewards alone cannot match.
Backing introduces powerful allies who can replace lost gear, offer support, or provide new vehicle options, but these allies often come with their own demands, missions, or political complications. Finally, advancement allows players to increase their tier of play, unlocking access to greater challenges, more XP, and higher levels of backing. This progression not only changes the scale of enemies and obstacles they face but also reflects their growing influence and reputation in the galaxy. Rewards should always feel earned and meaningful, driving both the story forward and the players' sense of accomplishment.