Category: Uncharted Worlds

Just finished the session and apparently I did quite well. So much so that there’s interest in playing again and with my GM’ing again. I’ll take that as a win 🙂

There were some takeaways:

1) I bigfoot’ed it a couple of times, but primarily toward the end. I had an idea of where I wanted to end the game (it was a one-shot) and pushed it in that direction. Mental note to avoid, as it runs contrary to the spirit of UW.

2) The players loved the system, the nature of the setting, plot, rules, etc. It was the first time any of them had played any system that uses collaborative gameplay.

3) In the words of one of the players, what they liked best is that, “The rules don’t get in the way of the game.”

4) They could tell when I would direct a “setting question” to one of the players because I wasn’t sure what should happen and they really loved that it meant they could take a proactive role in figuring it out. I made a point of if I wasn’t sure how to respond to a player’s action I would ask a different player what they thought the result should be.

5) The fact that you’re more likely than not to have some sort of success meant they felt that they were willing to go out on a limb.

6) They dug the character-creation process. They said designing the characters were fun.

7) I said one of the best parts of UW is that it’s a fantastic hack of the PbtA system. The other versions are definitely good, but just not as smooth.

Serious props to Sean Gomes for a truly great game!

So, do you guys tend to have the characters introduce themselves to each other before the first session or do it in-game? I’m trying to figure out if they should know each other before the jump point. Or should I ask them, “So, how do you know each other?”

So I’m going with everyone’s recommendations and not giving the players the Jump Point ahead of time. But the one I want to use is longer (a few paragraphs longer) than the example in the book. I figure it’s my chance to set the initial stage and then really open i up to the players. I wanted to get folks thoughts on it:

Over the course of your travels you’ve seen what feels like countless dirtside receiving warehouses. Massive, impersonal buildings covered in drab, gray paint flaking from equally drab, gray durasteel, leaving Rorschach-like patterns on the walls.

Automated, autonomous hovering flatbeds shuttle trade good from across the galaxy, sliding silently over the ferroconcrete, moving along A.I.-generate paths toward their storage destinations. Giant multi-jointed metal arms reach down from their floating control units, lifting the massive crates and placing them in their pre-determined bays. All of the activity bathed in bright white light streaming from bulbs hanging hundreds of feet in the air.

Seen one, seen them all.

That said, there’s something different about this place. Something stands out, your brain informing you, “Hey, we haven’t been here before.”

Most likely, it’s the blaster bolts and bursts zipping over your heads, rebounding off walls, stripping away more layers of flaked paint. It’s like they say, there’s nothing quite as memorable as being on the receiving end of gunfire.

Where are you?

Who’s shooting at you?

Where and what are the exits?

What do you do?

Thoughts on sharing the Jump Point with the group ahead of time? None of the players have played before and lik I said this is my first time GM’ing anything in 20 years. I have one written, it’s a little longer than the sample in the book. I want to send it ahead of time and ask each of the players a scene-setting question, having them answer sequentially so we all get an idea of where to start the session.