[Going Home] Unofficial Ronnies feedback

[Joe J Prince]

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but better late than never!
Going Home Is a Ronnies entry using the words mud and gun.

First point - this applies to many pdf rpgs- Please number your pages. Gah.

Setting
The setting is brilliant, it's one of the strongest aspects of the game. It's very dark and gritty. You start off thinking it's standard post-apocalyptic fare BUT there's a huge twist - a group a off world colonists have survived onboard their technological utopia. The colonists have sent a ship - an ark if you will, to rescue people from the now ruined earth. Places onboard the ship are very limited, but it still represents a glimmer of hope - an angelic escape to paradise.

Mechanics
The mechanics seem quite solid, roll 3d6 (might want to mention that explicitly) scoring under the appropriate stat indicates success. The number of dice can be modified by 'good' or 'bad' factors that add bonus/penalty dice respectively.

Combat
OK this is a difficult thing to judge. The system works very well for modelling reality - it would be awesome for a skirmish wargame - but it's so lethal that you're never going to have a campaign last without a big bag of GM fudge. There's also potential for an amok PC to slaughter the rest of the party pretty easily. Mind you countless mainstream games suffer from this too. I can't imagine why Shevy would be so inclined to be harsh to her players, apart from Liam...

Suggestions
- Obviously try and tidy up the text from the 24hr version, I only mention this so I can bring up the fact that Shevy changes her sex during one example (-5 to next combat)!
- Some sort of reward system would be beneficial.
- A fate point mechanic of some sort could be available to PCs, perhaps a dark system where you gain fate for dark and desperate acts and for finding out others dark secrets. Each PC could start with a 3 fate point Dark Background.
- The ship is the most interesting aspect of the game, try and bring it into the gameplay a bit more, I'm a big fan of endgame mechanics and getting your seat should be a tense climax.
- The title, this is a personal niggle, the PCs aren't actually going home, more like going to the promised land or something.

Heres an effective PC to test the system
Jonny Wu ex-corp assassin
Body: 6
Psyche: 6
Finesse: 17
Mind: 11
Pistols, Rifles, Stealth, Deceit, Survival

Overall, Going Home is very impressive for a first 24hr rpg, with a strong setting and solid central mechanics.

I used to play in a couple of games GM'd by Shevy a few years back and they were great. We've been out of touch for years & I'm really glad to see her developing her own systems, cos I think Shevy is a really talented GM sometimes let down by the bizarre offerings of the mainstream rpg design!
I hope she becomes a Forge lurker and discusser of concepts.

Cheers,
Joe

[Gregor Hutton]

Hi.

I think Shevy missed the deadline for the Ronnies, but she developed this in ignorance of the other entries and I think it is quite a strong piece. It was an easy read for me, which is always a plus.

I quite liked the fact it was a simple system and she didn't try to be too clever (if you see what I mean). I'm not sure about the exact statistical advantages/disadvantages of the bonus/penalty dice but they feel quite intuitive. I think people will be able to pcik it up quite quickly and it won't take long to resolve each roll.

I feel that it could be a nice short campaign game over a few sessions as the group fights towards being picked up. The GM, of course, can use the limited spaces to get off planet to ensure conflict between player characters at the end of the game.

Colour me impressed.