(Reposted on my current blog from my old blog – for proper formatting of the Table 2003-9 see this pdf or this image )
Fluid Spaceship Zero is a worldwide, multi-player SSZ campaign, typically run at gaming conventions and game days. Players create characters that run in and gain experience from a set of adventures, as in a normal SSZ campaign, but in the case of Fluid SSZ they can bring their characters to the table with any ZM who is running a game in any location around the world. Players walk away from a game with Experience Points and in some cases, equipment that they can keep from game to game.
SETTING
Spaceship Zero is on Earth 2. The year is 2026. The ship and her crew are part of the Human Underground Movement Action Network (H.U.M.A.N.) and as such are called upon to undertake many dangerous missions against the hydronaut empire and for the
good of Earthkind.
What happened to the original crew? Professor Ashton is alive and well and working on a new and (hopefully) less apocalyptic BTL Drive in Antarctica. Captain Stackhouse is dead, but his clones live on. Gearbox is fulfilling his destiny on a long-term ultra-secret
mission for HUMAN). Space Commodore (yes he got promoted) Dick Ross takes a hands-on approach to commanding the fleet of rocketships at SNAFFU headquarters in Calgary, Alberta.
PLAYER GUIDELINES
Obviously, you can’t play the same scenario twice, even with a different character. Knowing the ending would spoil the fun!
Archetypes: No player archetypes are forbidden, but players cannot play any sample characters from the book. These are now the ZMs regular NPCs. Assume that the SSZ had a myriad of deconstituted clone crewmembers, if your players want the option of being
from Universe 1.
Official Rules Changes/Clarifications: Dodge Penalty is 40, no matter what a character’s Dodge Bonus is.
During character creation, after the player assigns free points for Basic skills (Step 8, p 30) but before spending skill points (Step 10), that player gets free default values for most of her skills, as listed on table 2003-9, below.
Quirks: Avoid Plot Quirks unless they are very broad and general.
Space Navy Military Ranks: If your character is/was in SpaceCorp or is part of SNAFFU or H.U.M.A.N., you can assign her a rank, providing it is not higher than Space Commander. Exception: the rank of Space Captain is allowed to the Captain archetype.
Equipment: SpaceCorp space suits and anything in the SpaceCorp General Equipment section (pp 137-139) is allowed (limit 1 per customer) excepted the below items, which are restricted (only ZM can provide):
RESTRICTED ITEMS:
Insta-Cure Health Tonic
Rocket Belt
All atomic weapons, grenades, and other spacey guns must be approved by the ZM on a session by session basis! Keep track of your First Aid Kit uses and ray gun charges, when applicable.
ZM GUIDELINES
Running Scenarios: With some minor modifications, Asteroid X is the perfect platform to launch your Fluid Spaceship Zero campaign (pdf and maps available on greenronin.com). Sign up to the official Spaceship Zero mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spacecorp/ and visit the Green Ronin Forums at http://www.greenronin.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=14 for up-to-date news on further scenarios. “Have Raygun, Will Travel” AKA “Errant of Mercy” is being polished up by yours truly, but in the meantime please submit your own scenarios to add to the pool!
List of Adventures:
Asteroid X (www.greenronin.com)
Have Raygun, Will Travel (coming soon)
Advanced/Optional Rules: Use them if you like them, but make sure your players know what optional rules you’re using. I recommend using the Blunder rules (p 16)
Characters: Recommend to your players to come to your game with a character made up ahead of time. You can provide pregenerated sample characters if necessary, including the samples given from the book, but don’t let players accumulate EP for sample characters. Don’t let players play Professor Ashton, Gearbox, or Dick Ross, except by special arrangement. If they want to play a clone of Captain Stackhouse, they may at your discretion.
Equipment: Your players should not have access to restricted equipment (see above) unless you give them permission. Feel free to hand out SpaceCorp Atomic Batteries to recharge weapons if necessary.
Ship modifications: It’s probably a good idea to dismantle the BTL Drive aboard Spaceship Zero. HUMAN has the capacity to install one 3″ coil turret to Spaceship Zero. They can also paint the ship with a special coating that protects against hydronaut smart bombs
90% of the time. Since we are assuming the PCs are all H.U.M.A.N. agents, it is quite possible to play Fluid SSZ without Spaceship Zero itself. H.U.M.A.N. can provide the group with vehicles specific to the task at hand.
Rulebook Errata: p152. Star Skipper Weapons: 3″ atomic coil turret. Galactic Frigate Weapons: Rocket Torpedo Launcher, one 6″ atomic coil turret, two 3″ atomic coil turrets. Star Cruiser Weapons: Three rocket torpedo launchers, three cosmatomic missiles, four
3″ atomic coil turrets. Space Hopper Weapons: one 6″ atomic coil turret, two 3″ atomic coil turrets.
Rewards: Typical Experience Point awards at the end of a session is 5 EP for each player. Be mindful of what kind of equipment you provide characters – they may unbalance another ZM’s game.
Optional New Archetype: REPORTER
The BTL Drive could be the story of the year – if not the millennium. At least that’s what you thought when you started out on this assignment. Now you’re lost in time and space, but you’re still a reporter by heart, and oh the stories you’ll have to tell!
Minimum Attributes:
Minimum 10 Brains
Minimum 10 Bravado
Fixed Zero Skill:
Backbone
Skill Points: 250
200 of these points must be spent on Specialty Skills.
Specialty Skills:
Brains
Disguise
Hide
Language & Lore: Omnibus*
Language & Lore
Psychology
See
Balance
Lockpicking
Sneak
Bravado
Administration
Backbone
Persuade: Bargain
Persuade: Bluff
Persuade: Charm
Persuade: Debate
Streetwise
Perks :
Scooped! — The reporter, whose job it is to be in the right place at the right time, seizing every opportunity and always alert, may roll an extra d10 when Initiative rolls are called for. Add the Initiative Bonus as normal.Liberal Arts Education — The reporter gets a special, exclusive specialty skill called Language & Lore: Omnibus. This skill represents the
body of miscellaneous information that the reporter has come in contact with over his years of education and research. The player distributes skill points normally into the skill, however the skill functions differently than regular skills: Once per gaming session the player may switch that skill score with any other non-basic Brains skill (including other Language & Lore skills if the ZM warrants).
For example, a Wilderness Survival skill check is called for, but the reporter only has a score of 15 in that skill. He recalls, however, a story he once wrote about the famous author M. J. Durall, who forsook civilization and became a hermit. Durall showed the reporter his cunningly built lean-to, among other things, so the reporter may use his Language & Lore: Omnibus skill score of 70 in lieu of his Wilderness Survival score of 15.
What people are saying about Spaceship Zero the sci-fi serial roleplaying game:
“…the breadth of the rules is marvelous…the quality and quantity of the setting material…are unambiguously excellent…” 5 out of 5 – Dan Davenport rpg.net
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