I’m feeling less excited about the pre-filled names in the roster part of the crew sheet. Maybe because the names seem to be the same for all types, or perhaps because I’d prefer just blanks that can be filled in with any name as the npcs in the various gangs become important. Maybe it just seems to have a place of prominence more than what I expect.
But of course, I have yet to see the use in actual play. Anybody have opinions or experiences regarding the pre-filled NPC roster on the crew sheet?
I considered to make a “fill in” PDF of the charakter sheets and basically have those names as suggestions.
It’s like the lists of names in AW. They provide a weird sense of connection between different people’s games, but there’s nothing mechanically important about them.
(You’ve always got the “Others” section to add your own.)
I think it might be less about the rooster but more about the contacts. Like if you got two cutter they would know apparently the same people,..
Well the contacts are another curiosity to me, especially since there’s so far nothing in the QS about mechanically gaining new dangerous friends or crew contacts.
I like providing flavorful options, for sure, but maybe not hard-coded onto the sheet. Or perhaps I’d prefer more flavor archetypes (your thugs could include one who’s beefy, wiry, creepy, overly enthusiastic, flashy, rude, etc.
The way I see it the crew sheet is provided so you can start playing right ahead with just the quickstart. the QS its not the full game, is designed to introduce you into the system and give you the opportunity of playing a first session. It’s like Lady Blackbird, you get all the essential background info needed…
I¡m sure that the game will have a blank version of the sheet…
The contacts are small story hooks for the players to grab and build upon.
In Johns Demo game one player had his char get into contact with his contact. As he did the player, in cooperation with others, decided to flesh out the contact to a bit older clerky lady who worked at a bluecoat station and gave of tips to scoundrels for favors. (all from my memory so info could be blurred)
There was some rolls involved with how good those tips were but the contact was a good starting point.
One may make as well use of those contacts when doing a flashback,.. maybe getting a +1d if its been a marked contact.
(marked contact are like fine items,.. just that they will ask a favor in return later on ^^)
They are important on the sheet for when you play at cons or with new players, so they choose genre appropriate names and so that they don’t waste time in character creation. I would prefer not to see “fill in the blank” name slots for this reason. A player can always quickly come up with a name and ask to use that instead. But the pre-set names gives the GM the power to say “No” if the player wants to be called “Fartblaster Stinkypants Jr. the Third” or some other dumb shit that is obviously undermining the fiction.
There is a list of appropriated names in the character creation (some more at the GMs quick reference). If you’d like to avoid such name, tell them to pick one there ^^
I definitely prefer names to blanks. Names add so much help for GMs and players. I’ve had the experience often.
I also know from AW the fun of comparing common names across campaigns. “Who was your Rolfball? What!? No way?!”
I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more variety between crews. Like maybe the first three names are always common across two crew types: Thieves/Smuggler; Breakers/Assassins; Cult/Hawkers & then the last two names are unique to each crew.
But I think Harper’s trying to make it as nonthreatening as possible for people to build re-skins and hacks. As it is, if you follow his template you need to come up with only twenty-four solid names. If they’re all unique in his example, then that’s twenty-four per crew.
I experienced that the names in contacts work well. Specially as you got named characters like Baz in there which was something that came to use in our round.
Same the option for the whisperer to command his ghost friend.
For a group who plays more often maybe one optional name might be nice in the end version.