by bjcott

An item RPG Item: Enemies Within has been added to the geeklist [Chars] Dark Heresy 2ed - Dark Pursuits by Ryber

by Ugavine

If it makes it less enjoyable for other Players then I likely won't do it, if it's dropping their characters in the proverbial, then I'll likely do it for a laugh, we sort of game like that 🙂

by blackbirdetx

Thanks everybody this is shaping up to be a full table!

We do have a potential point of interest in characters though. Or possible friction, or entertainment...

Sean is interested in an Aslan character - no problem, I agree it makes things interesting with different races/cultures in a party. But Riley is interested in Solomani and Terence in a psionic character; that could quite possibly (though not necessarily) mean a Zhodani character.

If anyone doesn't know, the Aslan are a proud, felinoid race, often quite violent with a rigid caste, gender and moral structure. The Solomani are human, but claim to be the "original" humans descended from Terra, and have a very strong cultural identity. The "Solomani Movement" is a quasi-political and sometimes extreme group within the culture who hold human-supremacist views. The Zhodani are a humanoid race (often recognisably different as they tend to be taller, slimmer and darker than the average human) who revere and encourage psionics. All three of these have potential antipathy towards the other two. I ran it through AI for a summary and it confirmed my thoughts:

Zhodani vs. Solomani:
Solomani ideology often frames psionics as dangerous or oppressive, while Zhodani see non‑psionic societies as dishonest or chaotic. This creates immediate suspicion.
Zhodani vs. Aslan:
Aslan honor culture values personal reputation and territorial claims, while Zhodani nobles rely on psionic insight and social engineering. Aslan may see Zhodani telepathy as intrusive or dishonorable.
Solomani vs. Aslan:
Solomani human‑centrism clashes with Aslan pride and territorial instincts. Aslan may view Solomani ideology as arrogant; Solomani may see Aslan as rivals or threats.

However, I most definitely do not want to try to dictate any character choices; and it is absolutely true that these characters can cooperate perfectly well for the sake of a common goal. I am simply saying that we have some potentially interesting role play generated by these character choices. Absolutely go right ahead with these character selections!

These are the potential players we have so far:

Sean - Aslan - finance/business role
Richard - to be confirmed
David - to be confirmed
Patrick - to be comfirmed
Riley - Solomani - medic/scholar
Terence - Zhodani? - Psionic - class to be confirmed
Craig - to be confirmed

Bear in mind that good roles tend to be pilot, fighter, engineer, medic, computer tech; it is a very good call by Sean to have a business role as well, as trading and negotiation can be very important. Also, my starting point will likely be the crew taking delivery of their ship and being faced with a variety of choices, so you may want to bear that in mind when considering the character. Be aware that this is a fairly low tech universe as sci-fi goes - no beaming up or jumping to light speed to get out of trouble, and plenty of human(oid) input required, no relying on a smart and benevolent AI! Think Firefly, Expanse, perhaps BSG. Definitely no smoothly swishing doors like in Star Trek!

I would like to flesh out some background with individual characters via direct message; if you have a back story, great, I would love to hear it so that I can design something accordingly; if you don't I will be pleased to make some suggestions. For example, I will be interested to discuss with Terence how his psionic powers manifest, and this will likely mesh with whichever character role is chosen.

So if you would like to go forward (really hoping that you do!) please would you come back to me with some character suggestions - nothing too detailed, as we will flesh out backstories via direct message and you can then choose to tell your crewmates as much or as little about yourself as you deem appropriate, once I have given you your secret. You will also need to choose a call sign - it must be two syllables and can be related to background, culture, role or personality.

Finally, a broad profile will look something like this - this is a character profile from one of my previous Traveller TNE games:

Pilot – Steven – call sign Driver
Attributes: Skills:
Strength – 6 Pilot - space
Agility – 6 Pilot – grav
Constitution – 6 Observation
Intelligence – 8 Environmental Suit
Education – 8 Slug weapon
Charisma – 8 Energy weapon
Space hand
Been everywhere, flown everything. Combat experience, including some highly questionable black bag operations against the Aslan, and has seen active service with the soldier, where acted as drop pilot. Has served with and flown with navigator on several deep space missions.

I look forward to your ideas - any questions, suggestions or corrections, please please do speak up!

Chris

by mborda

An item Board Game Publisher: Button Shy has been added to the geeklist Button Shy's Board Game of the Month Club

by Againsto

Related Item: Dialect: A Game About Language And How It Dies

Sold the book, still have the cards, it seems. As someone who has worked a lot with language(s) this was of course a tempting purchase, but I didn't expect to ever get to play it to tangible benefit.

by cbdb

An item GeekList: Ceeb’s Meta List of Challenges, Competitions and other BGG stuff has been added to the geeklist Solotober 2026

by DJBunz27

My turn for price drops! Gotta make space for all the other games I'm getting from other sellers.

Open to trades and bundle deals. :)

https://yulgame.com/Vfm/Items/383945?Seller=DJBunz27&Status=...

by Againsto

For a train journey, I grabbed some old books from the shelf - Joel Rosenberg's D'Shay, parts I and II.
Even though he thanks his editor, esp. Book 2 would have benefited from another editing pass, but I find them overall charming.

by Karkared

I seldom play uncooperative characters, but I would speak with everyone else and see if anyone has another solution.
If I cannot do otherwise, I give another player a chance to intervene and stop my character. I might roleplay a bit of a grudge later.
If there is no other way, I will do the thing but then I will seek a manner of pushing someone else into the spotlight so that my own action is not the main point.

by pdzoch

QOTD OCT 27: What do you do when your character's most logical action would make the game less enjoyable for everyone else?

by pdzoch

What do you do when your character's most logical action would make the game less enjoyable for everyone else?

So, this is a take on those contentious moments in a game that generally results in a player claiming, "That's what my character would do!" There is probably a right way and a wrong way to do this. When does staying true to a character become an excuse for uncooperative play? More importantly, how can you preserve the character's personality while keeping the game moving? Where is the creative compromise?

Do you have a question you want asked as QOTD? Post here!
And if you want to find an old QOTD: The big QOTD Summary and Subscription Thread Volume 3

by Pentaclebreaker

Hi there,

right now, our GM is giving some background story info for one of the charcters through a new character who joined the group recently. The character is eager to find her father - an elf - and the new charcter had somehow come into possession of an amulet of said elf, but does not know where and how. Opens lot of interesting plot hooks 😉.


Ciao

Martin