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Rethinking the “Human Destiny” RPG

Rethinking the “Human Destiny” RPG

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Art by Rick Guidice

It’s about time for me to swing back to working on the Human Destiny setting bible and RPG sourcebook, and that project is going to get a new approach this time around.

I submitted a partial draft of the setting to the Chaosium design challenge last year, and it didn’t do well. Didn’t even make the short-list, in fact. Which honestly doesn’t surprise me too much. I suspect they were looking for material that was narrowly focused on a working RPG, not the fragmentary setting bible I handed them. Lesson learned.

(Ironically, this is the same problem we ran into on a previous RPG design project I was involved with: Transhuman Space. Our team produced what I still consider a brilliant piece of world-building, but we didn’t develop a clear concept of what the “canonical adventure” would be in the setting. As a result, for too many readers it wasn’t clear what player characters were supposed to do in that universe. Later designers had to come back and provide that kind of on-ramp into the setting, so potential players had something to work with.)

So the project has been simmering in the back of my brain for a while now, while I’ve been working on the Atlas of the Human Protectorate. That project in turn has been causing me to do some more world-building in the setting. I think I have a high concept for that narrow focus:

Adventurers in the Human Destiny universe will be human agents of the Hegemony, charged with promoting human maturity and participation in the interstellar community. This will usually involve supporting human exploration of the galaxy, colonization of new worlds, and enforcement of the Hegemony’s guiding principles (the Praxis).

So human characters will usually be members of the Hegemony’s core services, such as the Ecological Service (planetary exploration and biosphere protection), the Guard (enforcement of the Praxis), or the Interstellar Service (interstellar exploration and colonial support). Most missions will involve trouble-shooting and problem-solving.

Missions will usually be set away from Earth. Earth is too “civilized,” too sedate. Humans on Earth are in a post-scarcity environment and subject to constant surveillance, so there’s little room for “adventure.” By moving the focus of the RPG away from Earth, I can set aside many pages of world-building detail that aren’t germane to the adventuring life.

Meanwhile, out on the frontier, resources are more limited, space and untamed wilderness are dangerous environments, there are worlds to explore and mysteries to solve, and human colonists are more likely to find ways to bend or break the Praxis. More problems to solve, more room for conflict, more adventure to be had.

The assumption will be that adventurers are loyal to the Hegemony and the Praxis, although the right way to interpret the Praxis won’t always be obvious. As adventurers develop their capabilities and successfully solve problems, they’ll earn social capital within the Hegemony, providing a reward structure.

If I were to come up with an elevator pitch for this RPG, I would probably say something like “Star Trek meets David Brin’s Uplift stories.” Adventurers will resemble Starfleet officers in some ways: competent, motivated, idealistic people, working in a loose chain of command but with a great deal of independence. The Hegemony and its Praxis would fill a dramatic role similar to the Federation and its Prime Directive. On the other hand, the details will be very different, especially since humans are very much not in charge in the Hegemony as a whole, and human independence has strict limits.

At this point, I’m not sure if I’m going to stick with the Chaosium BRP system for this project. I’m tired of being a game-system nomad with it. BRP is something like the fourth or fifth rules system I’ve considered for Human Destiny, and I really need to settle on one and push forward with it.

On the other hand, lately I’ve been messing with the Modiphius 2d20 system, current home for the Dune, John Carter, Space: 1999, and Star Trek RPGs. That system has a lot of features that I like, and it’s also under a very third-party-friendly licensing scheme, so there’s that.

More to come.

A Hero for the John Carter of Mars RPG

A Hero for the John Carter of Mars RPG

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As of today, I’m suddenly enjoying an outbreak of freedom. I’ve finished my work on university courses for this academic year, and all my major creative projects with deadlines are done too. I still have a pile of work to do for the office, but other than that I’m remarkably uncommitted for the next few months.

So this evening I decided to let my muse pester me a bit, and sat down to tinker with the John Carter of Mars RPG from Modiphius. What follows is a character who appeared unbidden in the back of my mind a few days ago. I’m still trying to decide what to do with him. Some Edgar Rice Burroughs fan-fiction? Probably not, but we’ll see if my muse will let me leave this Verginian on the shelf . . .

Marcus Verginius

Disciplined Earthborn Soldier

Marcus Verginius is a very old man, although he does not know how old he is, for he remembers no childhood and has not aged as other men do. His earliest memories are of a farm in the Latin hills, in the time of the last war against Carthage. Whether he was born there or simply remembers living there long ago, he cannot be certain.

For as long as he can remember, Marcus has been a soldier, serving in the legions of the Roman Republic in war after war. Most recently, he was primus pilus and then praefectus castrorum in Legio XXVII, one of the legions raised by C. Julius Caesar for his war against the Pompeian faction. After Caesar left Egypt, the legion remained behind to support the rule of Rome’s ally, Queen Cleopatra VII.

A few months later, while leading a punitive expedition against Egyptian brigands, Marcus vanished and was never seen again (at least on Earth). Instead, after a bizarre adventure, Marcus found himself naked and alone on a strange world: on Barsoom, over 1900 Earth-years before the arrival of John Carter.

Attributes

  • Daring: 7
  • Cunning: 4
  • Empathy: 3
  • Might: 8
  • Passion: 6
  • Reason: 6

Stress Trackers

  • Confusion: 6
  • Fear: 7
  • Injury: 8

Talents

Battle Valor (Grade 1)

You are a true warrior and steadfast soldier, at home in the chaos and carnage of war and always willing to meet your fate with sword and pistol in hand.

  • Circumstance: When suffering Fear damage in combat.
  • Effect: You may ignore the first 2 points of stress inflicted to your Fear stress track taken during combat. You suffer Fear damage normally after this during a combat scene or from other situations.

Break the Line (Grade 2)

Your skill with a sword is such that no lesser foe can hope to stand against you. In past battles, you have often been the first to break through an enemy’s line or shield-wall.

  • Circumstance: When wielding a sword.
  • Effect: You automatically defeat 2 minions as part of your action. You may spend additional Momentum to defeat more at the cost of 1 Momentum per additional minion.

Earthborn Strength (Grade 3)

You are tenacious and your Earthborn strength and years of experience give you a substantial edge in battle.

  • Circumstance: In melee combat.
  • Effect: You can always use Might for melee attack and defense and you do an additional 1 die of damage with melee attacks.

Leaps and Bounds (Grade 2)

Your Earthborn muscles allow you to leap great distances and perform great feats of strength while on Barsoom.

  • Circumstance: When moving on Barsoom and planets with similar gravity.
  • Effect: You may close one range category automatically, ignoring any obstacles or intervening terrain as long as you have clearance and space to leap between your starting point and destination. You may spend 1 Momentum to move an additional range category.

Logical Orator (Grade 2)

You have the benefits of a top-notch Greek education, and are accomplished at using both reason and rhetoric to convince others.

  • Circumstance: When attempting to persuade or convince an audience.
  • Effect: You can always use Reason to aid in a persuasive attempt. In addition, you can roll 1 bonus d20 on the test.

Flaw

Code of Honor

You lose 3 Momentum if you break your word, refuse to defend the innocent form harm, or otherwise act dishonorably.

Renown and Accolades

Renown: 0