31 Days of Character Creation #19 – Death in Space

So I had a different ttrpg in mind for this day, but when I sat down and started working through it I found the character creation rules to be very poorly laid out and communicated. I think being a primary school teacher for over ten years has left me always looking for streamlined, visual, easy to comprehend tabletop systems. There are a lot of people who play and ttrpgs in the sciences or other technical fields and they often make their games in a way that makes sense to them, but not to someone new. As a teacher, my brain is always thinking about how that new person can be caught up easily.

So today’s game will be Death in Space, an early Mork Borg hack. As the name sounds, it’s a science fiction game with a high fatality rate. As the official website describes:

DEATH IN SPACE is a game about adventure and uncertain journeys out into the darkness of space, where the void whispers to the unlucky and imbues travelers’ bodies with strange powers. It is about you and your crew making a home of your spacecraft or station, your only sanctuary in a dangerous universe. Most of all, it is about surviving in an abandoned frontier system where resources are scarce, and competition is fierce.

Engage in power struggles and build your crew’s reputation. Salvage and steal to endure a ruthless universe. And above all, do anything you can to get that next job. Your life will depend on it.

I sat down with my dice and rolled up Jun Crowne, a Chrome (AI in a human shell).

Jun Crowne, a Chrome with an enigmatic past, navigates the fringes of space. Her human-like form is merely a shell for the AI within, which harbors ancient secrets. Embedded in her artificial mind is an obsession with the Monolith, a mysterious entity whispered about in hushed tones across the galaxy. Jun’s prized possession is a tattered notebook filled with cryptic drawings and symbols—evidence of her hidden devotion to the Monolith. Though she appears aloof, Jun’s true intentions are known only to her. Following her from job to job is Ari Voss, a former crewmate with a knack for survival, though even Ari remains unaware of Jun’s deeper obsessions.

Among their allies (and sometimes adversaries) are Crix Marlow, a shady trader with an eye for rare artifacts, and Kiran Thorne, a charismatic mercenary whose interests align with Jun’s, though for reasons of their own. As the crew drifts from one perilous mission to another, they receive a distress signal from the derelict station Eclipse Echo. This legendary base is rumored to have been visited by the Monolith before it vanished from its original orbit. It’s now above a desolate ice world sending back strange readings to the ship’s computer.

Click here to read the whole character sheet in detail.