LIFE ON THE RING IS GOOD.
There’s synth-meat Consider it as a setting for adventures of a more
in every pot, a gravcar in every garage, a hi-fi
stereo in every living room, and a 25-hour cycle.
(There just weren’t enough hours in the day!)
► Strictly local matters
1 Chaperone school field trip to Hydroponics
2 Chief’s retiring — how should we celebrate?
3 Defend your trophy in intramural gravball
4 Ensure block party doesn’t burn down block
5 Field mouthy teens’ questions at career day
6 First day on the job — impress your partner!
7 Friend begs you to “interrupt” dinner date
8 Get ice from docking bays to the party — stat!
9 Housing Association makes strange demands
10 Is this mysterious newcomer … an alien?
11 Mayor requires bigger ribbon-cutting scissors
12 Moral panic over gory new arcade game
13 Nasty mayoral election divides town
14 Neighbor needs help moving 45° across town
15 New neighbors are really obnoxious
16 No idea what’s in this pool, but better clean it
17 Pick a shower gift for likely telepathic baby
18 Shy neighbor kid asks how to be cool like you
19 Throw the best surprise party ever
20 Your friends would be perfect for each other
► Problems that may actually demand attention
1 Alien fungus threatens O2 supply
2 Breach! Get folks to safety, or pitch in to fix it
3 Caught in a time loop … again
4 Derelict (?) ship floating worryingly close
5 Gravcar accident — and they’re still floating!
6 Ice shipment delayed distressingly long time
7 Internal faction pushes to cut outside contact
8 Little Timmy’s stuck in a maintenance duct
9 Maintenance workers stranded outside
10 Misplaced fusion cell shipment found by kids
11 Out-of-system comm relays are just … silent
12 Ship trying to dock won’t respond on comms
13 Shouts warn: “Ice cream monster! Run!”
14 Somebody’s poking holes in all the vacsuits
15 Somebody’s selling a fake “psi drug”
16 “Space fever” making folks swell up, turn blue
17 Spin altered somehow, messing up gravity
18 Star-crossed young lovers steal ship to elope
19 Wacky weather — climate system on the fritz
20 Zoo power failure, creatures on the loose
Version 1.3 • Art by NASA • Permission is granted to reproduce for personal use
mundane sort, a pleasant stopover in otherwise
stressful space travels, or a mystery to be solved.
After all, is anyplace really this good?
► Bigger situations, if you can call them that
1 Annual Garden Competition invites sabotage
2 Baseball sucks in spin gravity, kids are bored
3 Cereal-box decoder rings hint at conspiracy
4 Dance-off! Do you have what it takes?
5 Graffiti in paint only young people can see
6 Guest judges needed for school science fair
7 Hedges expertly trimmed into naughty shapes
8 Huckster convinces kids to start synth bands
9 LOST CAT: Entire piggy bank as reward
10 Mysterious scavenger hunt! Who’s behind it?
11 “Perfectly safe” jump drive exhibit at museum
12 The Ring Station Gazette needs a big scoop
13 Rival high school’s stolen mascot escaped
14 Robot workers comically malfunctioning
15 Shuttlecraft joyriders keep buzzing station
16 Substitute teachers needed right now
17 Telekinetic child needs brave babysitters
18 Washer malfunction floods streets with suds
19 Well someone has to dress up as Santa
20 Youth league ref has the flu — for playoffs!
► Beneath the surface (?)
1 Aliens fattening up the population for food
2 Brain-worms control residents, seek escape
3 Compulsory erasure of “bad” memories
4 Dissidents replaced with docile androids
5 “Happy ray” test; residents scream inwardly
6 It was built to survive an imminent doomsday
7 Never mention it’s a white-collar penal colony
8 Obedience drugs have rare side effects
9 Outsiders processed, eaten as “synth-meat”
10 Population depends upon cloning visitors
11 Psychic child overlord demands happiness
12 Researchers secretly testing stress in space
13 Residents don’t realize they’re all dead
14 Residents raised for clone-parts for the rich
15 The Ring is an AI; the residents, its neurons
16 Runs on forced labor by prisoners or AI
17 Secretly an experiment in eugenics
18 Subliminal sleeper agent training program
19 “Volunteers” who fix breaches never return
20 Worker output in service to distant, brutal war
RULES CHARACTERS PEOPLE & PLACES ON THE RING
PLAY: Players describe what their characters do. ► Life on the Ring is pretty quiet, and the toughest ► Name Quality Quirk Often found at…
The GM judges when their action is impossible, jobs are automated — but as a Community First
1.1 Addison 1.1 Always helping out 1.1 Bad with faces 1.1 Home
demands a cost or extra steps, or presents a risk. Responder, you get called for everything ranging
1.2 Beren 1.2 Does magic tricks 1.2 Bores easily 1.2 School
Players can revise plans before committing so as from a cat in a tree to a hull breach. What skillset
1.3 Casey 1.3 Dresses to impress 1.3 Businesslike 1.3 The café
to change goal/stakes. Only roll to avoid risk. have you found helpful? Raise it to d8.
1.4 Christmas 1.4 Knows a shortcut 1.4 Busybody 1.4 The office
ROLLING: Roll a skill die — d6 by default, higher HANDS: Helping move a sofa, swinging a baseball 1.5 Dana 1.5 Parties hardest 1.5 Holds a grudge 1.5 The park
with a relevant skillset, or d4 if hindered by injury, bat, forcing open a jammed door, and anything 1.6 Edin 1.6 Takes stuff apart 1.6 People pleaser 1.6 The mall
circumstances, or carrying more than 1 bulky else you’d do if you’re “good with your hands.”
item. (If more than one skillset fits, use whichever 2.1 Frankie 2.1 Bookworm 2.1 Big “dad” energy 2.1 The bar
HEAD: Working with computers, getting a model
you want.) If you have a relevant quality, roll an 2.2 Gio 2.2 Computer whiz 2.2 Endlessly chatty 2.2 The boutique
volcano to erupt, fixing an oxygen scrubber, and
extra of that same die. If helped by circumstances, 2.3 Hira 2.3 Gravcar nut 2.3 Fiercely loyal 2.3 The cleaners
anything else you might call “using your head.”
roll an extra d6; if helped by an ally, they roll their 2.4 Indiana 2.4 Green thumb 2.4 Kind of in a hurry 2.4 A construction site
skill die and share the risk. Take the highest die. HEART: Swaying with words, calming down 2.5 Jae 2.5 Loves to cook 2.5 Playfully insulting 2.5 The corner store
cranky kids, sensing how folks are feeling, and 2.6 Kayden 2.6 Popular vidcaster 2.6 Suuuper chill 2.6 The ice cream shop
1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. If it’s mutually
anything else that benefit from a “big heart.”
exclusive with your goal (GM’s call), you fail.
3.1 Lee 3.1 Buys the 1st round 3.1 Always in vacsuit 3.1 The gravcar dealer
3–4 Setback. A lesser risk or partial success. HEELS: Rounding the bases, dodging escaped zoo
3.2 Lucky 3.2 Fiercely idealistic 3.2 Band t-shirts 3.2 The hospital
5+ Success. The higher the roll, the better. animals, scrambling up a tree, and other ways to
3.3 Morgan 3.3 Honest face 3.3 Floral print shirt 3.3 The library
move when something’s “hot on your heels.”
If success can’t get you what you want (you get up 3.4 Nasim 3.4 “I’ve got a hunch…” 3.4 Hand-knits 3.4 The lodge
the tree, but that’s no cat — it’s an alien!), you’ll at ► What quality stands out about you? 3.5 Omid 3.5 Knows a guy 3.5 Leather jacket 3.5 The museum
least get useful info or set up an advantage. 3.6 Page 3.6 Soothing voice 3.6 Vintage tracksuit 3.6 The theater
Invent, choose, or roll d6.d6 on the next page — d6
DEFENSE: Break an item turn a hit into a brief for the first digit, another d6 for the second. Roll
4.1 Pat 4.1 Authoritative air 4.1 Always in shades 4.1 The arcade
hindrance. Broken gear is useless until repaired. an extra skill die when it’s relevant, and use it
4.2 Quispe 4.2 Boundless energy 4.2 Cowboy hat 4.2 The record store
declare you have an item that would make sense
HARM: If you get banged up so badly that you’ll be 4.3 Reyes 4.3 Boogie shoes 4.3 Elaborate tattoos 4.3 The restaurant
(like a gravcar nut having a garage full of tools).
laid up awhile, make a new character to introduce 4.4 Sam 4.4 Juke box hero 4.4 Monocle 4.4 The salon
ASAP. Favor inclusion over realism. ► What items do you find helpful as a Responder? 4.5 Sydney 4.5 Local sports star 4.5 Pink hair 4.5 Religious services
4.6 Tenzin 4.6 Winning smile 4.6 Tons of jewelry 4.6 The Welcome Center
ADVANCEMENT: After each session, each player Start with a wrist comm (smartwatch), a small
gains 1 credit (₡), and either raises a skillset they gravcar, and ₡2. If you need an item later, and it’s
5.1 Terry 5.1 BFFs with own clone 5.1 Curses up a storm 5.1 The docking bay
used (none ➡ d8 ➡ d10 ➡ d12), or gains or not clear whether you would have it, then deduct
5.2 Udo 5.2 Bonded with an AI 5.2 Gives nicknames 5.2 The factory
rewords a quality they displayed. ₡1 and say you do. Don’t worry about microcredit
5.3 Vanja 5.3 Retired daredevil 5.3 Monosyllabic 5.3 The labs
transactions like a meal or a single screwdriver —
GM: Describe characters in terms of appearance 5.4 Vic 5.4 Exoplanet refugee 5.4 Says “I owe ya one” 5.4 The shipping yard
think more like “power tools” or “baking supplies.”
and behavior, not skill dice. Lead the group in 5.5 Whitney 5.5 In cryo since 2030 5.5 Talks in questions 5.5 Space traffic control
setting lines not to cross in play. Fast-forward, ► Who are your closest personal connections? 5.6 Wynne 5.6 Slightly magnetized 5.6 Very loud 5.6 Storage units
pause, or rewind/redo for pacing and safety;
If it’s other players’ Responders, agree on a sign
invite players to do likewise. Present dilemmas 6.1 Xia 6.1 Android, you think 6.1 Mutters in Russian 6.1 Food Production
of your bond — an inside joke, secret handshake,
you don’t know how to solve. Move the spotlight to 6.2 Yannic 6.2 Clumsily telekinetic 6.2 Repeats self a lot 6.2 Hull maintenance
Friday darts game, etc. Optionally, come up with
give all time to shine. Roll periodically to test luck 6.3 Yoshi 6.3 Intelligent ape 6.3 Says “bingo bango” 6.3 Life Support
names and quirks for close connections played by
(e.g., run out of ice, or into a grumpy neighbor) — 6.4 Yuki 6.4 Just a bit telepathic 6.4 Sings softly to self 6.4 The power plant
the GM — parents, kids, housemates, polycule, etc.
(1– 2) trouble now or (3–4) signs of trouble. 6.5 Ziv 6.5 Might be an alien 6.5 Talks to their dog 6.5 Utility tunnels
Just don’t leave the group waiting on you to finish.
Improvise rulings to cover gaps in rules; on a 6.6 Zola 6.6 From the year 2600 6.6 “UFOlogist” 6.6 Waste Treatment
break, revise unsatisfactory rulings as a group. ► Finally, choose your name, and note pronouns.