This isn't a review. I'm simply reporting our group's experiences with Mothership and the first impressions I had while running it. My initial thoughts about Mothership are posted at the other end of this link.
We took on Mothership with character generation (session zero) and a session of Another Bug Hunt in August. Scheduling issues prevented us from meeting back up to complete Another Bug Hunt until November. This means that, once again, my attempt to run a horror scenario in October has failed. I'm beginning to think that Halloween really is cursed.
A caveat: It's entirely possible - likely, even - that some of our experiences were due to my misunderstanding aspects of Mothership or Another Bug Hunt. I also acknowledge that some of the things I criticize here may be addressed by Tuesday Night Games or the Mothership community on Discord or a social media post somewhere. This blog post describes our group's experiences using Mothership and Another Bug Hunt out of the box. Nothing less. Nothing more.
Spoiler warning: I'll be discussing Another Bug Hunt from the perspective of a gamemaster who has run it in its entirety. There will be spoilers.
Session Zero - Character Generation
The process is straightforward and is streamlined by being summarized on the character sheet. A flow builds as players follow each step on the sheet rather than having to bury themselves in the rules. We had to look up specifics like what a particular skill or piece of equipment does, but these were brief pauses rather than lengthy distractions.
A weakness in character generation is the scarcity of equipment. Characters are effectively locked into the gear they roll up randomly. Their starting funds are woefully inadequate for purchasing anything else at the inflated prices listed. This removes a player's ability to customize their character through equipment selection.
Limiting starting equipment also strains the gamemaster's ability to convey information to the players. This came up while running Another Bug Hunt. Nobody was lucky enough to start with something to analyze a body or scan an area for life signs. This meant that they had to hope for an intact surgical suite to do autopsies on the corpses they found. Given that important clues were hidden in those dead bodies, I ended up planting a medical scanner in the wreckage of a medical lab. It's an easy fix, but why am I taking on the role of designer while running a published adventure?
Session One - Starting Off
Another Bug Hunt was written to introduce Mothership. It includes plenty of advice for the gamemaster. There are opportunities to use just about all the rules. This gives a new group a taste of everything the game has to offer. It's a good introductory adventure, but I do have notes.
The derelict base that the player characters initially explored was challenging and the descriptions conveyed the intended mood. The risks were moderated by cautious play. Our group's experiences with Old School Essentials this year left a lasting impression on how to handle squishy characters in hostile environments.
We completed the initial location and ended the session as the player characters were preparing to leave the base. Planning their next move would have been aided by an overview map showing all the locations in the adventure in relation to each other. I found no such map in the book.
I ran into an issue during a specific encounter. The player characters can find the "Sansa VI Org Chart" in an office. This chart is printed on the inside front cover of the adventure. Foreseeing this, I printed out a copy as a handout. Unfortunately, the chart accurately lists the current status of various individuals as KIA (Killed In Action) or MIA (Missing In Action). Which strikes me as a bit of a spoiler. I asked our group to ignore that information.
Another presentation issue is that Another Bug Hunt looks great - on a backlit screen. Sections of the printed version as difficult for my aging eyes to read. Parts of it are white or orange text on a black background. Other parts are black text on a green background. I could have reprinted those sections in a way to make them easier to read, but I paid for the printed version in the boxed set.
Session Two - Wrapping Up
The player characters managed to escape the planet, but there were some close calls. They also went through most of the content in Another Bug Hunt. I wasn't expecting to be able to do that in a couple of sessions. The adventure hummed along a brisk pace.
As with the first session, the players were able to avoid the most deadly encounters by moderating risks and focusing on objectives. The overall risk level of the adventure was reduced by my die rolls. Random encounter rolls kept coming up empty. That's been true of other games, but it was particularly noticeable here. I considered fudging the results, but I dislike that option. More static encounters might have helped here.
The timeline running during adventure does a fine job of keeping up the pressure. Another Bug Hunt features a storm with winds strong enough to prevent evacuation and flood waters high enough to make certain areas inaccessible as the weather worsens. The chance of a random encounter also increases over time. This gradually closes off options while raising the stakes as the adventure moves forward.
The maps were good, but not perfect. The terraforming complex map could have used notations indicating the directions of the other locations. This would help to determine where the player characters are approaching from and going to. Again, there's no overview map that I could find to show the players and help them with planning.
Speaking of the terraforming complex - it incorporates a dam and generates power. However, it also has a reactor that produces radiation. So is it hydro-electric or a water cooled nuclear reactor? The adventure doesn't have an answer - the text calls it both things. I just asked our group to roll with it.
The central concept of Another Bug Hunt is an infestation transmitted by sound. Specifically, the shriek made by the titular bugs. Even hearing it over a radio transmission will do the trick. This was a difficult idea for our group to get our heads around. I ultimately got through by explaining that there's a psionic component to the shriek.
The end of the adventure presents a chance to use the spaceship combat rules. However, I couldn't find stats for the executive ship in Another Bug Hunt. A look at the Shipbreaker's Toolkit revealed that an "Executive Transport" is typically unarmed. If so, what's the space encounter supposed to teach? How to get shot at? I ended up skipping it entirely.
Overall Impressions
Mothership is the kind of rules light system that works best when run by a gamemaster willing to make things up on the spot. This is not a system for those who like everything locked down, meticulously defined, and with a rule for any situation. There's a strong OSR feel, although the rules are not descended from classic RPGs.
Another Bug Hunt is a good, but undercooked introductory adventure. The presentation is flawed. There are inconsistencies in the information provided. Perhaps another editing pass or a little more polish could've improved it. That said, it does its job. Our group came out of the experience with a good impression of the game, an understanding of the rules, and looking forward to playing more down the road.
