Star Wreck Roleplaying Game

OTHER STYLES OF ROLEPLAY-
ING
The Star Wreck Roleplaying Game doesn’t have
to be played sitting around a table. Two obvious
alternatives are Live Action Roleplaying (LARP)
and roleplaying over the internet (simming).
Live Action Roleplaying
Provided one has access to proper uniforms, a
Star Wreck LARP might not be that hard to
organize. One should focus not on huge space
battles or epic monsters, but rather on character
interaction. An Away Team on a forest planet, a
group of cadets time-traveling to the 21 st century,
or a diplomatic meeting between alien
governments might all make good LARP
scenearios.
In a freeform LARP, the Game Master typically
has no control over the game once the game has
started, but there are a number of equal
Characters or groups of Characters (like Away
Teams from different ships) pitted against each
other. It’s important that the Game Master
doesn’t have any planned outcome in mind for
the events, but lets the Characters work things out
for themselves. Maybe the star-crossed lovers
don’t get along. Maybe the Ambassador doesn’t
get poisoned. Maybe the bad guy wins the duel.
Anything can happen, and that’s the beauty here.
There are no NPCs, only lots of PCs with
opposing motivations.
Some prefer creating so-called adventure-style
LARP, which resemble table-top games more
closely. These games have a single group of PCs
with each NPC played by a GM or an assistant.
The PC group is then lead from one encounter to
another following a relatively rigid plotline. The
advantage here is that the few PCs will probably
get a much more intense experience than can be
guaranteed in most freeform LARPs.
Some LARPs can take several days and have
thousand of Players, but a typical Star Wreck
LARP would probably last from two to six hours
and have a couple dozen participants. It’s often a
good idea to start out small, say, two Away
Teams meeting some strange alien being on a
planet, and the LARP being over when they
transport off the planet.
30
Extra care should be taken when designing the
set, props, and costumes for LARPs. Simply
wearing a red polo neck, and calling it a P-Fleet
uniform can work, but typically the more realistic
the setting, the better the experience. Lighting,
soundscape, food, drinks, smells, music and a
distinctly specified style of acting all affect the
atmosphere of the LARP.
Sims
As the Star Wreck Roleplaying Game is very
character-based, it’s very well suited for online
text-based roleplaying, or simming. Sims can be
played by e-mail, in chats, or on internet forums.
In a sim roleplaying game, the GM ”hosts” the
event by describing where the story starts, and
often playing some key NPCs. The hosting
typically begins with an introductory message
setting the scene for the PCs’ first actions. The
other players then each write descriptions of
Characters’ actions.
Sims rarely employ dice-rolls, as they typically
rely more on the experience of collective
storytelling, than on ”realistically” simulating a
fictional world. One mechanic that is particularly
well suited for this style of play is Star Wreck’s
idea of Pity Karma.