Hot news from the crew of the John Henry. So, yeah. Two of the characters had sex. In zero-G. With machine parts and bits of torn schematics floating around. You’re gonna love it.
I know UW doesn’t have sex moves, but Todd Zircher did something cool that I’d like to point out. He asked us, as we faded to black, to describe the sex with a single word, which, without being gratuitous, put some character into the action. It went a little something like:
Me: Uh…vigorous. Yeah, vigorous.
Todd: Sounds a little like ‘desperate’, don’t you think?
Me: (pause) Yeah. Almost. Not quite, but almost.
Anyway, it said a lot without saying too much.
Do I miss sex moves? Maybe. Do I think UW needs them to really sing? Not really. The scene wasn’t about gaining leverage or numerical bonuses. It was about creating a moment where the characters could talk freely, without tension. Worked wonderfully.
The game’s still rockin’ (no pun intended) at Session 8 (or was that 9?).
For the inevitable uncut version (it’s on the Blu-ray): https://youtu.be/WhF6dpY5E3A
Hah. Awesome. Honestly, that question sounds like a great 7-9 result on a Cramped Quarters check. I approve.
LMAO! Of course, you have to keep in mind that is FEBE’s sound track. Poor Flanders, thank goodness it was zero-G. He might not have been able to walk. … Well, he was the one to end up with the broken nose, too. 🙂
something something something joke about 7+ 🙂
Cramped Quarters makes a reasonable substitution for an all purpose Special Relationship Move… surely.
It isn’t like you are going to need to leverage around the scarcity issues of AW, or play on youthful string attachments of a young monster’s heart… indeed.
So check in on a common complication involving the social dynamics of a ship’s crew, and deal with the consequences accordingly… makes sense.
The broken nose wasn’t a result of the fun times, but afterwards when the third leg of the triangle showed up. Microgravity combat!
Needless to say both Febe and Flanders were already members of the 3 Dolphin Club.
Oh, and Flanders’ music track would be a different AC/DC song: 😉
https://youtu.be/Lo2qQmj0_h4
Honestly, coming to UW cold, with no actual play whatsoever, I was a little disappointed in the apparent lack of sex and relationship mechanics; especially since they figure so prominently in the source fiction (Kirk’s philandering/flirting with Yeoman Rand; the wonderfully messed up Apollo/Starbuck relationship in BSG (love Unfinished Business, by the way); not to mention half the crew in Firefly).
But so far, Cramped Quarters has served to inform relationships in much the same way that sex moves would in AW. Was it weird? Who wanted more and who didn’t? Did you learn something new about them? Did it affirm your feelings for each other? All that stuff. Can’t argue with the results.
Apollo, and Starbuck… Sheba, and Cassiopeia…
the original double duo was even better. 😉
I also think of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Rocky Jones, Dan Dare, Z-ro, Steve Zodiac, and the Video Rangers… who also have/had interesting romantic and/or passionate entanglement arcs.