I coaxed my group onto the Mothership last week for a run-through of Luke Gearing's "Orphans." As the resident OSR/NSR fan in the group, I've coaxed them into trying a few systems over the years. It's been more hit than miss, but this was by far the softest landing we've had in a new system, and the most immediately fun.
"Orphans" is still fairly new, but it seems like it's unfairly slept on in the discourse, especially as an intro to Mothership. I have nothing to compare it to, but it worked fantastically in that role for my group.
Maybe its origin as a Kickstarter olive branch contributes to it being underrated—or the fact that conceptually similar modules beat it to the punch? But we had an absolute blast with it, and were able to really hit the ground running.
So much was working against it, too—we were coming off an extended hiatus, trying a system none of us had played, with only a few hours of GM prep, including the time to learn the system. I'd had a couple weeks available to prep, but if I used my time effectively I'd be living a very different life.
A lot of credit goes to the Mothership itself for being so easy to run, but "Orphans’" vibes are immaculate. While looking for a one-shot to run in Mothership I discovered that I'm a picky little shit with sci-fi. I wanted something very specific: Something grounded in familiar tropes, that still manages to highlight the cosmic horror and underlying weirdness that makes Mothership sing. "Orphans" nailed it.
This isn't to say I have no quibbles. I love the graphic design, but the chartreuse color scheme feels like an odd choice for a module set on a station bathed in red emergency lights and orbiting a red planet. I also got stun-locked thinking about how gravity would work with the station's layout. Is the wheel meant to generate gravity? If so, what about the central shaft? And either way, how does one transition between the two when traveling from the lobby? It's nothing that mattered even a little bit in play.
What did matter, quite a lot, was the events table. The cumulative rolls worked great for ratcheting up the tension. Somehow every result felt intentional and appropriate in the moment. As the unsettling events escalated, they even crossed the vaunted horror game threshold between scaring characters and scaring players.
We broke for the night after a character slapped Tina across the face to get her attention, only for her hand to swipe through Tina's face as it dissolved into loose soil. Then rain began pouring from the ceiling. Panic ensued, and the party retreated through the airlock to their (broken) ship, disabling the airlock door behind them.
It was a hell of a moment.
I have a hunch "Orphans" will stick the landing, but even if it falls short I think the group is sold on Mothership.
One of my players said it best: We've all seen Alien(s) and other sci-fi horror flicks, so the character archetypes are familiar, and fun to embody. It's an easy vibe to sink into. I'd add that corporations doing atrocities and carelessly birthing existential threats gets more relatable by the day.
My only regret is that this blog's style goes hard for pseudo-medieval fantasy, and now I can't stop thinking about sci-fi horror.
Edit: Successful finish! One character death by soil transmogrification, emergency power re-routed to fuel pumps, orphans abandoned on the station. The events table breaks down a bit once Auntie manifests the first time, but I still really like the mechanic.
Next stop: "Decagone."