Equal and Opposite Reactions

Newton's Third Law states that when one object exerts a force on another, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force back on the first. I think Newton’s Third Law can also be applied to tabletop RPGs (TTRPGs) in a way, because consequences make a world that feels alive and reacts to your players.

A recent example comes from my Mothership campaign. My players are bounty hunters, and on one job they took out a corrupt security officer aboard a space station. That had a ripple effect. A separate bounty of theirs had ties to the same criminal network, and his former associates suspected him of being involved and marked him for death. The result was an amended contract with a bigger reward and bigger danger, both direct consequences of the players' own actions.

Sci-fi is new territory for us. Mothership is rules-lite and highly lethal, which has been eye-opening and a lot of fun because my players have to get creative to survive. On their current mission, they tracked their bounty to a docking bay where a crime boss and five goons were about to kill their prize. An NPC teammate who specializes in hacking pulled up blueprints of the bay. The bad guys had cut the camera feeds, so the group found a ventilation shaft and pulled what they called the Bishop maneuver. They sent one player crawling up to the security room to bring the docking bay cameras back online. In true Mothership fashion, he failed.

So the team had to go in hot. First, they had their dropship dock with the bay as a distraction. Unfortunately, a sniper on overwatch heard them coming and shot the team lead. The hit had two possible outcomes, paralysis or an exploded head, so I let the player roll for his fate. He got the "better" one. The session ended with the sniper and one goon dead, and two members of the five-person fireteam badly wounded.

I had a blast, and I'm constantly impressed by my players' creativity. I love games like this where the characters aren't overpowered heroes, because it forces them to think.

Speaking of heroes, I'm very intrigued by Outgunned: Superheroes and am developing a superhero setting for it. Like Beyond the Black, it's built from the ground up for a rotating cast. Most of my players are pretty consistent, but between life and work it's hard to get everyone together every time. For my sanity and theirs, two sessions a month is the sweet spot.

Improvisation is one of my strengths as a GM. Mothership asks more of me, though. I'm juggling a web of NPC relationships and figuring out how it all ties together, and we lean heavily on theater of the mind because the players have so much freedom. I've had to prep more and flex mental muscles I didn't know I had. Some moments feel a little flat to me, but everyone seems to be having fun. Mothership stresses that violence should always be the last resort. My players are well-funded, well-equipped mercenaries, but they still have to play smart, and they do.

I can't wait to see the stories that unfold as we keep telling them together.

That's it for now, friends.

As always, stay frosty.