Longshot, by Nick Wedig

You’re a colonist four light years away from civilization.

Now Earth has gone silent: they’re possibly dead

but they’re definitely not sending any help.

How will you survive on this blasted desert planet?

L ngsh t A roleplaying game for 2-5 players

by Nick Wedig

1
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Synopsis You are all inhabitants or new ar-

rivals on a dusty, desert like planet orbiting
elements, relationships, abilities and respon-
sibilities. Traditional GM duties are spread
Proxima Centauri. It’s mankind’s first colony among the group based on character deci-
beyond the solar system. And because no sions. Dwindling resources will force char-
one ever got around that whole speed of acters into tough decisions and inevitable
light issue, that means that it takes years for conflict. Will you emerge battered but victo-
news to travel from earth to the colony and rious, or will you slink away like a cowardly
even longer for people and supplies. yellow dog?

Now the sheriff (and leader of the

colony) is found dead. When the deputy
finds the body, he also discovers that the
sheriff has been lying to the colony: Earth
has stopped communicating with the colony,
a long time ago. Complete radio silence
from the whole planet, which suggests a
nuclear war or catastrophe killed everybody
there.

How will the colony survive its

dwindling resources without Earth’s resupply
shipments? Who killed the sheriff and who’s
going to take the blame for the crime? Will
the Infatuated Scientist be able to confess his
love to the Incompetent (yet lovable) Reli-
gious Pilgrim? What is the function of the
alien artifact found in the mountains? Who
will control its ancient unknown power?
What will you do to survive?

Players combine two halves of a

pregenerated character to make a character
that is uniquely their own. Each half gives
the player a variety of goals, background
2
Synopsis
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Setting Humanity has colonized the en-

tire home solar system. Colonies exist in
people come out to Proxima because they
want to get away from Sol for one reason or
some form on Mars, Venus, and many of another. There’s a growing population of
the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. At some children born on Longshot, who never knew
point, humanity decided to spread on to the what earth was like.
next closest system: Proxima Centuari. It
took a lot of effort, as four light years is a Humanity never got around that
long, long distance to travel. But eventually speed of light barrier, so it takes 4 years for
a series of ships were able to travel back and news to travel between earth and Proxima.
forth between the two, ferrying supplies and The fastest vessels built so far can go about
new colonists, and occasionally transporting half the speed of light, so it takes eight years
back material and data. for people and goods to reach Proxima. It
would seem like less time to the voyagers due
One of the planets orbiting Proxima to relativistic matters, but a typical voyager
was a dusty, dry, rocky world dubbed Long- spends the trip in cryogenic hibernation. A
Something to Think About shot. It was close enough to the conditions resupply ship comes every year or so, bear-
of Mars that humans were able to colonize ing new colonists and materials unavailable
Where was your PC born? How it. It’s a rough, difficult life living on Long- on Longshot. A lot of minerals and resourc-
does that affect their outlook? Did they leave shot, but it beats trying to survive in the void es can be made here on Longshot. But a few
Earth to get away from something? Did between stars. key elements can’t be synthesized without
they come to Proxima looking for something? Earth’s environment or the advanced tech
If they were born here, how do they mourn Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star, found back home.
a home planet they’ve never even seen? Some so it looms large and dim in the sky. The bi-
Jobs may give you clues as to where you nary star of Alpha Centauri is visible in the
were born (the Deserter and New Arrival sky as two distinct points of light, brighter
both come from Sol, for example.) Use those than any regular star.
details to build a personality.
Journey’s End is the largest colony
on Longshot, but it’s still really just a small
town. It’s been around for years, and always
squeaked by with regular influxes of settlers
and supplies from Earth. Journey’s End isn’t
a very big town (a couple hundred individu-
als), so everyone knows everyone else. Most
3
setting
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Character Creation Characters in Longshot are made by

combining two aspects of a character: their
your two characters.

Personality and their Job. Each gives you You might wind up with an odd
some resources, abilities, relationships, goals pairing of Job and Personality. I’ve tried
and background information. When you to make it so that any two bits can fit to-
combine the two, you should be able to see gether, though I can’t say this is universally
how they fit together into a nearly complete true until we do some playtesting. On the
character. Everything won’t quite fit togeth- other hand, you can easily have situations
er entirely: there will be a lot of questions for where the relationships between your PC
you to answer and holes in their past for you and another PC are a mess of both posi-
to fill in. But those will hopefully be simple tive and negative emotions and conflicting
and guided easily once you have your Job goals. Some might see this as an inconsistent
and Responsibility chosen. character, impossible to play. I think (and
hope) that such characters will actually be
Starting with whoever is furthest more interesting because their relationship is
from home, go around the table clockwise, so complicated. Discuss with the other PC’s
picking either a Job or a Personality to play. player how these bits of character all fit to-
Then go around the table counterclockwise, gether. I’m sure you can come up with some
picking whichever of Job or Personality that reason that you both love and hate each
you didn’t pick the first time around. This other, or otherwise how these two apparent
means that the first person to pick gets one contradictory bits actually make sense.
aspect that they’d really enjoy, and one that
they may not as much, whereas the last Each Job and Responsibility has a lot
person gets two mid-range aspects of their of questions built into it. For most of these,
personality. you should think up some answers for the
questions. Maybe mention possible answers
As you pick Jobs and Personalities, to your fellow players to see if they respond
pay attention to the choices other players enthusiastically. Don’t set anything in stone
make. Look at how your character will fit entirely, especially questions about “How
into the emerging web of relationships. If a are you gonna…”. You’ll get a lot of fun
player chose a Job that causes them to dislike by taking a vague idea and making it con-
your character, look at how choosing a Per- crete once play begins. Once you’ve started
sonality will create more conflict or create a playing, you’ll be able to pull in stuff that
complicated love/hate relationship between happened in play and other player’s ideas
4
Character Creation
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

and incorporate them into your background, gain or spend Skin and Bones). Hopefully, so that we can make sure most standard GM
making the whole story more interesting. these are clear enough in description that tasks get done. Everyone should help out
they don’t need any further explanation. with these tasks, but if it fails to get done it is
If a background or similar section your failure more than anyone else’s.
of your character sheet references another Skin and Bones:
PC, you should discuss your answer to the If you have authority over an NPC
question with them. You don’t want some- There are two main resources that or fictional element, your job is to describe
one to spring a big surprise on you if your colonists can’t easily make on Proxima. One that element and (if an NPC) to portray the
character would have known about it, right? is a clothlike mesh of nanomachines, nick- NPC in scenes when your PC isn’t present.
Nor do you want to pull the same stunt on named Skin. It’s used for communication Make sure the information made up about
your friends. So talk it out a bit. And as purposes, repairing small holes and other the, is consistent and compelling.
with anything else in character creation, you minor tasks. In the game, Skin is useful for
don’t need to nail anything down so much as non-violent conflicts. For rules stuff and social matters, the
you just want to get a vague idea and then group can override someone if they make
establish stuff in play. The other are small scale fusion a lousy decision about something in their
weapons, which are nicknamed Bones authority. But in general, if something is
Finally, think about why your char- because of their tubular shape and tradition- under your authority, it means that your say-
acter might have killed the sheriff. Someone ally white ceramic housing. In the game, so carries more weight than someone else’s.
had to do it; what if it was you? Why and Bones are useful for violent conflicts. It’s just that your say-so never outweighs the
how did you do it? Don’t tell anyone why or opinion of the group as a whole.
how you may have done it. This isn’t true, Authority:
yet, but it’s a good idea to have some reason Respect:
prepped (and maybe some hints dropped) There are a variety of tasks that need
so that later on you can reveal that you were to be taken care of for a roleplaying game Having Respect for a PC means that
the murderer. to run smoothly. Somebody needs to man- you have a positive opinion of them, regard-
age the NPCs, somebody needs to judge less of whatever negative relations you may
conflicts, someone needs to watch the time have. Normally, you can only transfer Skin
Special Ability: to make sure you don’t run long, etc. In and Bones to other people at a loss. (You
a traditional RPG, these would be mostly normally have to spend one of the appro-
Each Job and Personality grants handled by a gamemaster. Since this is a priate resource before transferring any to
some special ability. Each one modifies how GMless game, we don’t have that luxury. All another character.) If you have Respect for
some bit of the game works (usually how you of this stuff becomes everyone’s responsibil- someone, you can freely give them Skin or
ity. Now, you receive some specific respon- Bones without wasting any resources.
sibilities based on your Job and Personality
5
Character Creation
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

gameplay First, gather together a pile of tokens.

Poker chips in two distinct colors would work
framing scenes. Go around the table clock-
wise, describing the setting of the scene and
great, as would pennies and quarters or two who’s involved and the initial situation.
different kinds of dice. You’ll need 10-15
per player, I think. I’ll assume you’re using Roleplay out scenes, doing your best
poker chips, just to make things easy. One to introduce elements of your character’s
color of chip will represent Skin and one will Job, Personality and background. Push
represent Bones. Distribute out the starting characters towards interesting conflicts and
totals for each character, which are the total interactions. There’s plenty of conflicting
values of the Skin and Bones numbers listed goals to pursue, and there’s a town full of
for both Job and Personality. colonists with dwindling resources. And a
murderer on the loose. If I’ve done my job
Start a pile with 1 Bone in it, and right, you shouldn’t have trouble finding
Skin equal to half the number of players something for your character to do.
Snacks (round down). This is the Common Pool,
which anyone can access at any time. See Don’t get carried away pushing
Thematically appropriate snacks are later on for the full description of how that just for your character. Your primary goal
either old cowboy foods like jerky works. should be to tell a compelling story first and
and dried fruit or space age ad- to advocate for your character second.
vanced thoroughly processed snacks, You also need a space for the Mys-
probably from Japan. Maybe some tery Pool. It starts out empty, but you add At any time, someone can suggest
astronaut ice cream or as well. Noth- tokens to it at the end of each scene. that a scene is finished and should be cut.
ing that spoils easily, though. It’s primarily the responsibility of Gonzalez,
You’ll also want a pile of Skin and Isuko or Oh to do this, but everyone should
Bone tokens easily reached by everyone. be watching for times to end a scene. When
You may want some name badges or other you end a scene, put a resource into the
identifiers so that players can identify who is Mystery Pile. If there was any violent con-
who. You’ll also want some pencils and your flict in the scene, put a Skin into the pile. If
favorite snacks on hand. there was no violent activity of any kind, put
a Bone into the pile. The Mystery Pile starts
Starting with the player who trav- at 0 resources, and keeps going up until
elled farthest to get to the game (this may or someone declares that they are the murderer.
may not be the person farthest from home
that picked first before), you’ll take turns At any time during a scene, a player
6
Gameplay
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

can reveal that they murdered the sheriff. the transfer.

They need to have a flashback explaining
how and why they did so. Then they receive
the Skin and Bones in the Mystery Pile. The Common Pool:
From here on out, you can ignore the Mys-
tery Pile; its purpose has been served. The Common Pool starts with one Bone
and Skin equal to half the number of play-
Once per session you can reveal that ers (round down). It us a pool of resources
you have been stealing supplies, hoarding available for anyone to use. You can choose
food or deceiving everyone about a key fact to move resources from your own pool into
of survival to acquire 1 point of Skin. Nar- the Common Pool if you want, and similarly
rate how the truth comes out. you can take resources from the Common
Pool.
At any time, you can give another Gonzalez has primary responsibility to watch
player character resources from your pool. over the Common Pool. If there’s a question
This is costly, however: when you give Skin where two people both declare at the same
to another character, one point of Skin is time that they’re taking resources out, Gon-
lost in the transfer. Similarly, if you give zalez leads the effort to sort out an amicable
Bones to another PC, you first spend one agreement.
Bone for the privilege and then transfer as
many Bones as you want. This means that
it is best to transfer resources in big chunks
rather than in small exchanges, because giv-
ing someone eight Skin means spending nine
(one is lost in the trade), while giving a PC
one Bone costs you two.

If you don’t want to lose resources,

you could theoretically use the Common
Pool to transfer resources around, but that
carries a risk that some greedy ne’er-do-well
will snatch the stuff out of the Pool during

7
Gameplay
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Conditions Over the course of the game, you

will acquire and dispose of Conditions.
used to it that you operate fine without it.
You can only have a specific condition once
Conditions are impairing circumstances or over the course of the game in standard play.
situations that will hinder you in attempting So once you finish paying the resources to a
to achieve your goal. Generally, you acquire Condition, scratch it off or otherwise mark
Conditions in an attempt to achieve your that the debt has been paid. You could later
own goals, but they cost you later on. So on narrate how you go Insane again or get
they are at best a double edged sword. (The Wounded once more, but it isn’t going to get
Incompetent should pay attention to make you any mechanical benefit a second time.
sure that relevant Conditions are applied.)
If you are ever unable or unwilling
The only way to acquire a Condition to pay a Condition the resources it needs
is voluntarily. At any time, you can describe when it is relevant, then your character dies.
how your character becomes Wounded or If you’re in the middle of a conflict, you’ll
Campaign play. Insane or whatever. Why would you want to expire at the end of the conflict. You get
do that? Well, when you take on a condition, to describe in loving detail how your char-
Playing a longer campaign is easy: you gain 3 points of resources (either Skin or acter’s life expires. Once your character is
just ignore the rule about only Bones or some combination). dead, stick around for the conclusion of the
gaining resources from a specific story and keep handling stuff that you have
once. That rule is one of the pri- Taking on a condition is like taking authority or responsibility over. Volunteer to
mary mechanics for capping how on debt: good right now but bad in the long play NPCs and take responsibility for other
many resources you can acquire in term. The drawback is that any time the tasks as needed.
play. Once it is removed, you can condition would hinder your course of ac-
keep acquiring resources indefinitely. tion, you lose one resource (of your choice).
Which means you could have your Eventually, conditions expire after they have
campaign keep going until everyone consumed 5 resources. Note in the relevant If the term itself isn’t clear enough, here are
decides to be done with it. box on your character sheet how much you some ideas what a condition might mean:
still have to pay off of the Condition, and
decrease the number as you lose resources Wounded: Injured or physically impaired.
because of the Condition. Did you break a leg? Lose an arm? Get your
eyeball plucked out? Be gruesomely descrip-
When you’ve paid the full 5 to the tive; your friends will like detailed depictions
Condition, you can describe how you over- of your character’s suffering.
come your disadvantage, or how you get so Trapped: Imprisoned or restricted from
8
Conditions
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

moving. Were you captured by outlaws?

Surrounded by enemies? Trapped under a
cave-in or landslide?
Insane: Temporarily, you lose all touch with
reality. What delusions do you suffer? How
does your breakdown manifest itself ?
Wanted: As in “Wanted for crimes he did
not commit” or “Wanted Dead or Alive”. It
may also mean “being pursued by people
wanting to capture or injure you”.
Enraged: You’re unspeakably angry at some-
one. But being so very pissed off means that
you lash out at everyone else around you, im-
pairing social interactions. Who are you so
angry at, and who suffers your misdirected
wrath?
Hiding Out: You may be on the run, or you
may be worried about some impending di-
saster. Maybe you faked your own death or
otherwise tricked everyone. Spend resources
when someone comes close to finding you or
when staying in your spiderhole limits your
options.
Lost: You don’t know where you are, and
neither does anyone else. How will you navi-
gate the trackless wastes of a hostile alien
planet? Until you buy off the Condition,
you’ll be wandering the desert, looking for
a way back to town. Good luck out there,
Longshot’s natural terrain can be harsh.

9
Conditions
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Conflicts It often happens that two characters

want different things. Sometimes you can Bidding Bones means that you are
reach a compromise, but you just can’t make using violent effort to achieve your goal.
everybody happy all the time. Especially Any amount of Bones spent will outvalue
since there are fewer and fewer resources to any amount of Skin. So even if you bid 20
go around. or a hundred Skin, I can beat that bid with
a single Bone. Skin can still be used as a tie
If two player characters want com- breaker once Bones have been bid, though:
pletely contradictory things, you have a con- if you bid a Bone, I can beat that with one
flict. Here’s how you sort out what happens. Bone and two Skin, which can be beaten
with one Bone and three Skin or by two
Someone has to note that a conflict is Bones.
happening in the story and declare that you
need to have a mechanical conflict to resolve In a conflict, it will often be useful
what happens. Milton is in charge of watch- to you to acquire a Condition for a sudden
ing for this, but everyone should keep an eye boost in resources. You can deal with that
out. cost later on, right?

Conflicts work like an all-pay auction Milton, Isuko and The Deserter
(most familiar in the form of a dollar auc- should pay special attention when conflicts
tion). The player that was taking the active are happening.
role (trying to change the equilibrium) starts
the auction. They will bid some amount,
and that quantity of resources is lost whether
they win or lose the auction. For each bid
that you make, describe your character
working to achieve their goal, and how they
expend effort and resources to achieve it.

Each player thereafter can bid higher

than the bid amount or pass. Keep going
until all but one player pass. Then everyone
pays the last amount that they bid.

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Conflicts
 Longshot, by Nick Wedig

Characters What follows are the two sections of

proto-characters. They are designed to be
printed out, cut in half and reassembled to
make the character of your choice. Cut on
either side of the Condition track. Just make
sure you are consistent on which side you cut
on, so that some folks don’t have two tracks
and others have none.

Each Job is printed twice, so that you

can pick a gender of your choice. (Each Job
is tied to your character’s first name, and
each Personality is tied to your last name).
If you can’t tell from the name, the male ver-
sion of a Job is the first listed, and the female
version is the second one. Nothing is differ-
ent between two versions except the name,
but printing both on one sheet looks sloppy.

11
Characters
Lt. Col. Joong-Jun

The Deserter Isuko
The Hotheaded
4 Bones:
Skin: 5
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
4 4
Wounded:
Military Supersoldier: You can convert Skin into Bones. Hot Temper: You gain one additional Bone for free if you
You can spend one Skin to gain one Bones at any time. bid at least 1 Bone in a conflict.

Trapped: Background: You’re notorious in town for your terrible

Background: You were a warrior in a war among the
moons of Saturn. You were trained and genetically modified temper. You can get upset and angry at anybody for any-
to be a perfect soldier. But for some reason you decided to thing.
abandon your post and stop the fighting. Why?
That cowardly Milton chickened out when you needed him/
Insane: her. What were you doing when Milton failed you? How will
You fled to Proxima to escape the violence and depravity of
war. You hoped to find a peaceful life here, where you’d never you get Milton to fix things for you?
have to kill again. You’ve been lying about your identity to
keep from being arrested for deserting your post.
Wanted: Respect: Webb is the only person in town that doesn’t anger
The Brethren Wars were led by the religious teachings and
intolerance of the Stellar Brethren, who believe that aliens are you on a regular basis. Sure, he’s wildly incompetent and
out there watching humanity’s moves. You saw much slaugh- dangerously clumsy. But that’s hilarious instead of enraging.
ter in the name of these invisible interstellar deities. And yet
The Pilgrim is here, claiming moral superiority over everyone
Enraged:
else. How can you show everyone else the hypocrisy of the
religion? Authority: You have the responsibility over angling the
game towards action, interesting interactions and conflict.
You want to see justice done, though you have abandoned the You watch scenes to make sure that they are going to result
path of violence. How can you punish the wicked and protect in a change in circumstances or something exciting. Similar-
Hiding
the innocent without the use of force? ly, watch when people introduce new facts to make sure those
Out:
facts can lead to interesting action later on in the game.

Authority: You have authority over raises in a conflict. You You also have authority over Xiao, the town prostitute. Are
judge them to make sure that the action used in stronger than you a frequent customer? How does the town treat Xiao?
previous raises and relevant to achieving the goal. Lost:

You also have authority over Big Fat Mike’s Saloon, in the
center of town.

12
Lt. Yong-Shin
The Deserter Webb
The Incompetent
4
Skin: Bones: 5
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
4 2
Wounded:
Military Supersoldier: You can convert Skin into Bones. Underdog: You only need to spend 3 resources to remove a
You can spend one Skin to gain one Bones at any time. condition, instead of the normal 4.

Trapped: Background: You’re the town loser. The incompetent fool.

Background: You were a warrior in a war among the
moons of Saturn. You were trained and genetically modified Everyone thinks that you are a klutz and a deadbeat. And
to be a perfect soldier. But for some reason you decided to most of the time, they’re right. What was your last big, spec-
abandon your post and stop the fighting. Why? tacular failure?
Insane: Sometimes, the other townsfolk take advantage of you. You
You fled to Proxima to escape the violence and depravity of
war. You hoped to find a peaceful life here, where you’d never owe Gonzalez a lot of money because of your continual fail-
have to kill again. You’ve been lying about your identity to ure at gambling. How can you get out of your debt?
keep from being arrested for deserting your post.
Similarly, Oh made you look like a fool to pursue his/her
Wanted: object of affection. How did Oh embarrass you? How can
The Brethren Wars were led by the religious teachings and
intolerance of the Stellar Brethren, who believe that aliens are you force Oh give you respect?
out there watching humanity’s moves. You saw much slaugh-
ter in the name of these invisible interstellar deities. And yet
The Pilgrim is here, claiming moral superiority over everyone Respect: Milton has never pushed you around like the oth-
Enraged: ers. Probably because he’s afraid of everyone. But nonethe-
else. How can you show everyone else the hypocrisy of the
religion? less, you are happy at least one person isn’t mocking your
every mistake.
You want to see justice done, though you have abandoned the
path of violence. How can you punish the wicked and protect Hiding
the innocent without the use of force? Out:
Authority: You have authority over when Conditions apply
and when they do not. Monitor what characters are doing
Authority: You have authority over raises in a conflict. You and watch to see if their Conditions impair them in some
judge them to make sure that the action used in stronger than way.
previous raises and relevant to achieving the goal. Lost:
You also have authority over Big Fat Mike, the saloon owner
You also have authority over Big Fat Mike’s Saloon, in the and barkeep.
center of town.

13
Brother Uziel
The Pilgrim Thushpa
The Veteran
6
Skin: Bones: 2
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
7 2
Wounded:
True Believer: Your first raise in a conflict is automatically Shrug it Off: Once per session, you can remove a Condi-
one point of Skin higher for free. tion for free.

Trapped: Background: You’re old an experienced. Maybe you’ve

Background: You worship the aliens that watch over hu-
manity. As humankind has spread beyond the planet earth, been on Longshot longer than anyone else. Maybe you
old religions and superstitions have fallen away. But when set- travelled the moons of Jupiter for decades before coming
tlers on Longshot uncover an artifact of alien origin, a resur- here. Where did you spend most of your rough and tumble
gence of belief in and worship of alien life began. Though life? Do you sit back with a calm “been there, done that de-
Insane: meanor”, or do you tell long, wild tall tales of your amazing
you are one of the enlightened who received the message of
the Star Brethren, most of the colony still doesn’t recognize adventures on Phobos?
the holy truth. How can you spread the gospel of the extra-
terrestrial savior? Can you show the heathens the truth? Who Gonzalez swindled you, like the greedy bastard he/she is.
among the colonists seems a likely convert? How were you tricked, and what exactly did you lose in the
Wanted: deal? What is your plan to get it back?
You travelled from Mars to here because you are a true be-
liever. The alien artifact is a holy relic of the utmost impor-
tance. It belongs in the hands of the faithful such as yourself. Respect: Isuko is a temperamental bastard. Maybe Isuko
How will you get it out of the hands of The Archaeologist? reminds you of yourself when you were younger. Maybe
Enraged: you’re entertained by his/her impotent rage. Why do you
What is the obvious sign of your religious beliefs? Do you respect the loose cannon Isuko?
have a ritual dress (like a veil or turban) or some sort of tattoo
or ritual phrase used in every speech?
Authority: You have the responsibility to call for more detail
Hiding
or colorful narration of events. If someone is glossing over
Out:
something exciting, interesting or important, ask them to
Authority: You have authority over minor NPCs. You give additional information. How do they manage that?
should give input when someone is trying to introduce a new
NPC, and any unnamed NPC or group of NPCs are under You also have authority over Winky Ledoux, a low level
your control if no one else claims them. worker at The Ranch, the bio-material processing plant
Lost:
You also have authority over The Temple of the Star outside of town. What shady dealings has Winky gotten into
Brethren, a worship center that you built by hand yourself. this time?

14
Sister Bethia
The Pilgrim Oh
The Infatuated
4
Skin: Bones: 2
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
4 1
Wounded:
True Believer: Your first raise in a conflict is automatically Fires of Passion: You gain one Skin when you’re in a
one point of Skin higher for free. scene with your Beloved.

Trapped: Background: You’re in love. One of the other player char-

Background: You worship the aliens that watch over
humanity. As humankind has spread beyond the planet acters is your Beloved, an angel descended to bless you with
earth, old religions and superstitions have fallen away. But his or her beauty and personality. Which character is your
when settlers on Longshot uncover an artifact of alien origin, Beloved? Why do you love them so?
a resurgence of belief in and worship of alien life began. There is a slight note of trouble in Paradise, though.
Insane: Your Beloved does not yet love you back. How can you earn
Though you are one of the enlightened who received the
message of the Star Brethren, most of the colony still doesn’t their love?
recognize the holy truth. How can you spread the gospel of That temperamental Isuko did something terrible to
the extraterrestrial savior? Can you show the heathens the your Beloved. What was it? How can you fix it, or how can
truth? Who among the colonists seems a likely convert? you make Isuko fix it?
Wanted:
You travelled from Mars to here because you are a true be-
liever. The alien artifact is a holy relic of the utmost impor- Respect: Gonzalez tries to act like a greedy miser. But
tance. It belongs in the hands of the faithful such as yourself. you know he/she has some good down inside. What noble
How will you get it out of the hands of The Archaeologist? act did you witness Gonzalez do when he/she thought you
Enraged: weren’t watching?
What is the obvious sign of your religious beliefs? Do you And, of course, you have Respect for your Beloved.
have a ritual dress (like a veil or turban) or some sort of tat-
too or ritual phrase used in every speech?
Authority: You have the responsibility to watch energy
Hiding
levels and see that everyone is having fun. If anyone isn’t
Out:
speaking up but looks like they don’t like an idea, ask for
Authority: You have authority over minor NPCs. You their opinion. If someone doesn’t seem enthused, try to look
should give input when someone is trying to introduce a new for ways to get them involved and excited.
NPC, and any unnamed NPC or group of NPCs are under You also have authority over Chun, a close friend or
your control if no one else claims them. coworker of your Beloved. How does Chun interact with
Lost:
You also have authority over The Temple of the Star your Beloved?
Brethren, a worship center that you built by hand yourself.

15
Deputy Thomas
The Marshal Gonzales
The Greedy
4
Skin: Bones: 3
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
3 3
Wounded:
The Law is on My Side: In a conflict, you only need to Leach: If a character gains a resource during a scene that
match the Skin bid by your opponent, not beat it. you’re in, you gain the same resource in the same quantity.

Trapped: Background: You’re here on Longshot, trying to become

Background: Sheriff Torkelson acted as the default mayor
and bureaucrat as well as being the town sheriff. He’d handle the biggest fish in this small pond. You want money, of
the radio communication back to earth and the paperwork course, but also power and resources. Everything belongs to
for supply shipments. When you found him dead, you also someone, and it might as well all belong to you. What’s your
found records that there hadn’t been any real communica- next big money-making scheme? How will you collect all the
Insane: resources for yourself ?
tion with Earth in the last four years. Which means, by your
count that this most recent supply ship is going to be the last
one coming. How will the colony survive without Your favorable dealings with the rest of town sometimes
leave a sour taste in the mouths of others. How do you keep
And the Sheriff ’s duties all fall to you. How will you fill yourself safe from angry debtors?
Wanted:
Torkelson’s shoes? How do you plan on finding the sheriff ’s
murderer? What clues do you have?
Speaking of which, Webb owes you a lot of money. Why?
You’ve long suspected that Joong-Jun/Yong-Shin was a What favor could you get Webb to do for you to balance the
deserter from the space war. How will you identify if he/she books?
Enraged:
really is guilty of going AWOL? How do you plan to keep
him/her imprisoned if they’re really guilty? Respect: You’ve tricked and swindled Thushpa in the past,
but you respect his/her years of experience and worldly
knowledge.
Authority: You have authority over laws, regulations and Hiding
official procedures. If someone says something is legal or Out:
not, you have some obligation to chip in ideas. If someone Authority: You have the responsibility to watch the resource
is stuck for an illegal good for them to be smuggling out of economy and the Common Pool. Make sure every resource
town, you should help them come up with something cool. movement goes from the proper source to the right place.
You decide who gets the resources if two players both try to
You also have authority over the town jail, and over details pull from the Common Pool at the same time.
Lost:
about sheriff Torkelson’s life and the clues found on the body.
You also have authority over Widow Olafsdottir, who owes
you several months of back rent.

16
Deputy Maria
The Marshal Milton
The Cowardly
4
Skin: Bones: 3
Conditions Skin:
Bones:
7 1
Wounded:
The Law is on My Side: In a conflict, you only need to Conflict Avoidance: You can spend two Bones to get one
match the Skin bid by your opponent, not beat it. Skin at any time.

Trapped: Background: You’re know around town for being a

Background: Sheriff Torkelson acted as the default mayor
and bureaucrat as well as being the town sheriff. He’d handle scaredy-cat. A pushover. You’re a natural born worrier, and
the radio communication back to earth and the paperwork are afraid of basically anything that could kill you. Why are
for supply shipments. When you found him dead, you also you so cowardly? What is your number one biggest fear?
found records that there hadn’t been any real communica- What do you most fear losing?
Insane:
tion with Earth in the last four years. Which means, by your
count that this most recent supply ship is going to be the last Why did you really abandon Isuko when you were helping
one coming. How will the colony survive without him?

And the Sheriff ’s duties all fall to you. How will you fill Thushpa took something of value from you. What was it?
Wanted: How can you get it back without confronting Thushpa about
Torkelson’s shoes? How do you plan on finding the sheriff ’s
murderer? What clues do you have? it?

You’ve long suspected that Joong-Jun/Yong-Shin was a

deserter from the space war. How will you identify if he/she Respect: Oh is able to come out and admit his/her inner-
Enraged: most feelings about hisher Beloved. You’d be terrified of
really is guilty of going AWOL? How do you plan to keep
him/her imprisoned if they’re really guilty? exposing yourself like that, so you give Oh a lot of Respect.

Authority: You have authority over laws, regulations and Authority: You have the responsibility to watch the story
Hiding
official procedures. If someone says something is legal or and call for conflicts as needed. If two people are at odds
Out:
not, you have some obligation to chip in ideas. If someone with one another, ask whether there’s a conflict brewing.
is stuck for an illegal good for them to be smuggling out of
town, you should help them come up with something cool. You also have authority over Cyrus, your nephew sent to
your care after his parents died on the frontier. How old is
You also have authority over the town jail, and over details he? Does he idolize you or hate you?
Lost:
about sheriff Torkelson’s life and the clues found on the body.

17
Emmanuel
The Rancher
3
Skin:
Bones: 3
Conditions
Wounded:
This is My Land: You gain one Skin for every scene set on
the Ranch, whether you’re in it or not.

Trapped:
Background: People came to Proxima to build better lives
for themselves, right? So you run The Ranch, the bio-mate-
rial processing farm outside of town. The Ranch can provide
most of what the colony needs to survive, but not everything.
That’s part of why you need to expand the Ranch.
Insane:
As it is, the facility can’t support the town. It’ll never replace
the supply ships from earth, but if expanded it might let a
few more people survive here. The problem here is that the
Archaeologist wants to stop you expanding, as he/she thinks
there are alien artifacts to be uncovered where you’d be build-
Wanted:
ing. Who cares about ancient space junk trying to survive?
Expanding would also make it easier to cover up your
illegal activities. What nefarious acts have you been hiding
in among the Ranch machinery? How are you gonna make
sure that the Deputy doesn’t go sticking his/her nose into it?
Enraged:

Authority: You have authority over the nature of the planet

Longshot. When someone says things about living conditions
on the planet, weather conditions or what the gravity levels Hiding
are, pay attention, Try to make sure everything is consistent Out:
and reasonably scientifically plausible (don’t worry too much,
as the magic word “terraforming” can explain a lot). Try to
think of interesting features of the planet as a whole and of
the terrain immediately outside Journey’s End.
You also have authority specifically over the Ranch, Lost:
the farmlike swath of land outside town that processes raw
Longshot soil into useful edible proteins.

18
Hesta
The Rancher
3
Skin:
Bones: 3
Conditions
Wounded:
This is My Land: You gain one Skin for every scene set on
the Ranch, whether you’re in it or not.

Trapped:
Background: People came to Proxima to build better lives
for themselves, right? So you run The Ranch, the bio-mate-
rial processing farm outside of town. The Ranch can provide
most of what the colony needs to survive, but not everything.
That’s part of why you need to expand the Ranch.
Insane:
As it is, the facility can’t support the town. It’ll never replace
the supply ships from earth, but if expanded it might let a
few more people survive here. The problem here is that the
Archaeologist wants to stop you expanding, as he/she thinks
there are alien artifacts to be uncovered where you’d be build-
Wanted:
ing. Who cares about ancient space junk trying to survive?
Expanding would also make it easier to cover up your
illegal activities. What nefarious acts have you been hiding
in among the Ranch machinery? How are you gonna make
sure that the Deputy doesn’t go sticking his/her nose into it?
Enraged:

Authority: You have authority over the nature of the planet

Longshot. When someone says things about living conditions
on the planet, weather conditions or what the gravity levels
Hiding
are, pay attention, Try to make sure everything is consistent
Out:
and reasonably scientifically plausible (don’t worry too much,
as the magic word “terraforming” can explain a lot). Try to
think of interesting features of the planet as a whole and of
the terrain immediately outside Journey’s End.
You also have authority specifically over the Ranch,
Lost:
the farmlike swath of land outside town that processes raw
Longshot soil into useful edible proteins.

19
Seung-Ha
The New Arrival
*
Skin:
Bones: *
Conditions
Wounded:
Who Are You Really? No one is certain who you are. Pick
two personalities and gain everything from both (see below).

Trapped:
Background: You only arrived here in town a short time.
Were you running from something back on Earth, or were
you seeking something here? What is the lie you tell everyone
else about why you came?
Insane:
Already you’re pulled into this tangled web of secrets and lies,
and the town is in a panic. It’s too late to leave. How will
you find a new life here on Longshot?

No one is sure what your real personality is just yet. You pick
Wanted:
two Personalities, and gain everything from both (the goals,
background, Skin and Bones, special abilities and author-
ity). Ignore places where one Personality relates to your other
Personality. Try to figure out how the various relationships
fit to make a coherent character. How does your demeanor
Enraged:
change when dealing with different people?

Pick one of the two last names to be your name. Or hyphen-

ate them. Or tell some people one is your name and other
people that the other one is your last name. Hiding
Out:

Authority: In addition to any Authority given by your two

Personalities, you gain authority over what it was like back on
Earth just before you left. (It’s been eight years since you left, Lost:
and the last news Proxima got was four years after you left.)

20
Clementine
The New Arrival
*
Skin:
Bones: *
Conditions
Wounded:
Who Are You Really? No one is certain who you are. Pick
two personalities and gain everything from both (see below).

Trapped:
Background: You only arrived here in town a short time.
Were you running from something back on Earth, or were
you seeking something here? What is the lie you tell everyone
else about why you came?
Insane:
Already you’re pulled into this tangled web of secrets and lies,
and the town is in a panic. It’s too late to leave. How will
you find a new life here on Longshot?

No one is sure what your real personality is just yet. You pick
Wanted:
two Personalities, and gain everything from both (the goals,
background, Skin and Bones, special abilities and author-
ity). Ignore places where one Personality relates to your other
Personality. Try to figure out how the various relationships
fit to make a coherent character. How does your demeanor
Enraged:
change when dealing with different people?

Pick one of the two last names to be your name. Or hyphen-

ate them. Or tell some people one is your name and other
people that the other one is your last name. Hiding
Out:

Authority: In addition to any Authority given by your two

Personalities, you gain authority over what it was like back on
Earth just before you left. (It’s been eight years since you left, Lost:
and the last news Proxima got was four years after you left.)

21
Dr. Timothy
The Archaeologist
5
Skin:
Bones: 1
Conditions
Wounded:
Eureka Moment: Once per session, the alien artifact erases
all the spent Skin and Bones from a conflict that you lost.

Trapped:
Background: Humanity has never yet encountered an alien
lifeform. All we had for a long, long time was speculation and
superstition. Until some Proximan settlers found the Artifact,
that is. The Artifact is the only item that is universally agreed
upon to be of alien origin. Its function, purpose and creation
Insane:
are all mysteries. What dies the artifact look like? How big is
it? Have you learned anything about how it operates?

You came to Proxima to study the artifact. You’re an everlast-

ing seeker after truth. You want to know about the artifact,
Wanted:
but you also want to know what’s really going on all around
you.

You’re worried that the Ranch’s expansion is going to destroy

additional priceless alien artifacts. You have to find a way
Enraged:
to stop the Rancher from building more until you can do an
absolutely thorough survey of the area.

Authority: You have authority over the alien artifact, and Hiding
over and science fiction technology that appears in the game. Out:
If someone starts trying to introduce in Star Trek style tele-
porters, it’s your job to say something. We want the tech to
keep the setting a difficult, grungy wilderness.

You also have authority over the scientific research center Lost:
established to study the artifact. Is it well funded, or just your
kitchen and secondhand lab equipment?

22
Dr. Rosabel
The Archaeologist
5
Skin:
Bones: 1
Conditions
Wounded:
Eureka Moment: Once per session, the alien artifact erases
all the spent Skin and Bones from a conflict that you lost.

Trapped:
Background: Humanity has never yet encountered an alien
lifeform. All we had for a long, long time was speculation and
superstition. Until some Proximan settlers found the Artifact,
that is. The Artifact is the only item that is universally agreed
upon to be of alien origin. Its function, purpose and creation
Insane:
are all mysteries. What dies the artifact look like? How big is
it? Have you learned anything about how it operates?

You came to Proxima to study the artifact. You’re an everlast-

ing seeker after truth. You want to know about the artifact,
Wanted:
but you also want to know what’s really going on all around
you.

You’re worried that the Ranch’s expansion is going to destroy

additional priceless alien artifacts. You have to find a way
Enraged:
to stop the Rancher from building more until you can do an
absolutely thorough survey of the area.

Authority: You have authority over the alien artifact, and Hiding
over and science fiction technology that appears in the game. Out:
If someone starts trying to introduce in Star Trek style tele-
porters, it’s your job to say something. We want the tech to
keep the setting a difficult, grungy wilderness.

You also have authority over the scientific research center Lost:
established to study the artifact. Is it well funded, or just your
kitchen and secondhand lab equipment?

23