GM: Create the Entity

Encounter Action resolution

You’re the crew of an Exploration Corps starship
exploring a distant planet. Your goal is to repair the ship
(which was damaged on landing), compile a report on
the planet, and return home. But unknown to you, a
mysterious alien Entity inhabits the planet...
Players: Create a character
Choose a profession, e.g. Pilot, Medic, Engineer,
Physicist, Chemist, Geologist, Biologist.
Describe an event from your past and how it’s changed
you, e.g. a traumatic accident has left you a cyborg;
you’re genetically enhanced and grew up knowing you
were different; you left Earth to run away from
something; you’re looking for a loved one who went
missing in space; you’ve been blackmailed into working
for The Company’s bioweapons division.
Distribute 6 points between Rational and Daring (they
can’t be higher than 5 or lower than 1). You have a third
stat, Changed, which starts at zero.
Give your character a name.
If you do something where the result is in doubt, roll
1d6. If your profession or past event would help, or if
someone is helping you, roll an extra d6 for each. You
succeed if at least one die shows equal to or lower than
your relevant stat. Use Rational if you’re carefully
applying reason to a situation; Daring if you’re acting
bravely or impulsively; or Changed if you’re
exercising your intuitive connection with the
mysterious Entity.
0 successes: Failure
1 success: Partial success or success at a cost
2+ successes: Perfect success
The Entity is intelligent, but not in the same way that
humans are. It’s aware of everything that happens on its
planet. It can even read the explorers’ minds, but at
least initially it doesn’t understand anything it sees there.
It can be driven back but not permanently destroyed.
Form Abilities (roll twice, re-rolling duplicates)
1. Weird alien animal 1. Assume any appearance
2. Weird alien plant 2. Create replicas of objects or creatures
3. Liquid/blob 3. Induce vivid hallucinations
4. Machine/robot 4. Control the planet’s environment
5. Glowing energy being 5. Teleport things and people around
6. Rock formation 6. Become invisible
GM: Run the game
Make them cope with a hostile planet. Show subtle signs
of the Entity at first, and gradually show it more clearly.
Make them go to new areas to investigate anomalies
and/or get resources to repair the ship. Have the Entity
impersonate or recreate people or situations from their
pasts. Ask questions about their backstories (“You see a
person from your past—who is it?”) Make them
cooperate with or overcome the Entity in order to escape
the planet.

As a group, name your spaceship and decide who is the

Safety
This game can involve player characters being forced to
mission commander and who is second in command. Being Changed
If you fail a Rational or Daring roll while encountering re-live past traumas, so it’s important that everyone is
Players: Create the Planet the Entity, transfer one point from the stat you were involved is comfortable. When creating your characters’
As the ship’s scanners reveal the planet, roll dice to using to Changed (in addition to any other backstories, make sure all players are happy for those
determine its features. consequences of failure). If you get 1 success, move a themes to appear in the game. During play, consider
point to Changed from your choice of Rational or using tools such as the X-card system to allow players to
Terrain Hazard (roll twice, re-rolling
duplicates) Daring. If you get 2+ successes you can choose veto or skip past certain content that they find
whether or not to do this. uncomfortable.
1. Ancient ruined cities 1. High gravity
2. Weird crystal formations 2. Toxic atmosphere
3. Dense jungles 3. Blinding dust storms The Changed stat represents how your mind is Credits
4. Extensive cave system 4. Frequent meteor strikes
changing to understand the inhuman thought processes Created by John Ayliff (www.johnayliff.com)
5. Misty swamps 5. Radiation interferes with equipment
6. Desolate and cratered 6. Aggressive life forms of the Entity, and simultaneously becoming more A hack of Lasers and Feelings by John Harper
As a group, give the planet a name. distant from humans. If your Changed stat reaches 6,
you’re no longer psychologically human and won’t Image from www.openclipart.org
voluntarily leave the planet.