Beam Me Up!
If you've been following our blog closely, you'll know that we're really excited about our all-new tabletop RPG, the Awfully Cheerful Engine! We've talked about the rules and taken a look at the first three modules: Spirits of Manhattan, Montana Drones and the Raiders of the Cutty-Sark, and Strange Science. Now it's time for the final installment of the first four issues that will be on offer as part of the crowdfunding campaign. Slap on your communicator badge and ready your blazer, it's time to get beamed up!
At it's core, Beam Me Up is a lighthearted parody of shows such as Star Trek and its many spinoffs. The Heroes form the command team for a starship and engage in all sorts of shenanigans as they explore the galaxy in the name of the Federated League of Planets - or FLOP for short. Expect lots of comedic encounters in a star-spanning adventure that can be as long or as short as you prefer. The opening script really sets the tone for hijinx that follow:
Space, a vast frontier. These are the voyages of the starship FSS Brazen. It's continuing mission: to recklessly go where plenty of people have probably been before… and hope a major interstellar incident isn’t sparked in the process.
Continuing the format established in its predecessors, Beam Me Up opens with an introduction to the setting, provides an overview of the contents, then offers a brief synopsis of the plot for the adventure that follows.
Also like our other issues of ACE!, we've included plenty of options where Hero creation is concerned. This is a starship, dammit, not a fantasy dungeon! To fill out the crew's compliment of command staff, players can choose from the Captain, Chief Engineer, Comms Officer, Hologram, Gunner, Ship Counsellor, and Pilot Roles, each one of which offers a unique feature that can be used during the course of a game. On the other hand, if you'd prefer to jump into the action and exploration straightaway, there will also be some handy pegenerated characters included in the form of Captain Wayjane, Chief Science Officer Spoke, Chief Medical Officer McBold and Chief Engineer Mackem La Kiln.
As the game is set in a utopian future that involves interstellar travel, there's also some information regarding the cost of items - they're pretty much free as everything can be created in a facsimilator (which is totally NOT a replicator) - and some quick and dirty rules for handling combat between starships. And when we say quick and dirty, we mean it. This is ACE! after all. A starship's stats can be written in a table that's even smaller than a character sheet!
With all the Hero options and setting info out of the way, it's then time to delve into the adventure that's on offer. Although this arc takes place across three acts as with our other ACE! offerings, there is nothing stopping Directors from continuing the mission of the FSS Brazen beyond those in the book. It is a five year exploratory mission, after all, and the acts that occur in this one are intended as a small snapshot of that epic journey.
Without giving too much of the plot and surprises away, the story opens with the Heroes leaving FLOP space on an exploratory mission, although they are soon called to investigate an incident to assist the research vessel the FSS Independent in the Klaatu Barada system. Once that incident is dealt with, it's on with the show, which soon pits the crew against the might - and laughter - of the Kulkan Empire. After the Kulkan's have dried their tears, the crew will finally be able to enjoy some well earned R&R in the ship's holo-suite. Of course, they don't get to enjoy their holiday for too long, as something sinister comes back to haunt them and begins to creep into the relaxing program. Will the Heroes be able to set things right?
And that, as they, is that... for now. With the fun and fast-paced ACE! system, you will soon be able to try your hand at ghost busting, relic hunting, bunny hopping on bikes and blasting things with blazers. If you haven't done so already, remember to sign up at awfullycheerfulengine.com for news and launch dates. Plus, we fully intend to be back in the future with even more ACE! goodness. Stay tuned!
