[Nanolite6] Space Rangers sometimes fail but the game didn't

[CSBone]

I want to show how the game plays by writing up the best demo session from UBCon22. This was a bit unusual because the person I was demoing for wanted to GM... and he was a 10 year old. I knew right then and there I got it right because he had no problems.

Scenario: Space Ranger to land on an alien space station and take out all of the aliens to keep them from destroying the world.

Me:
Griff, Space Ranger: Tough (Ring Carbon Bones), Hacker (Ranger Implants), Brawler
Hits 2+2
Armor Check 4+
Brawling: Medium Weapon

GM: 10 year old. Never been a GM. Played through two N6 scenarios earlier that day and that was his TOTAL role-playing game experience... ever.

How it went:

• He determined that I needed a stealth roll to make it to the station without being detected. Needed a 3. Rolled a 5. Success. GM narrated that I landed undetected at an airlock.
• I hacked the airlock controls by rolling a 2 and a 5 vs. a target number of 4 and breezed into the station.
• Came around the first corner and there were three aliens, 2 technicians and a soldier.
• I won initiative and ran a hack to jam the com system and succeeded by rolling a 3 and a 6 (the 6 being an automatic success) and then was attacked by the technicians with wrenches. They rolled a 2 and a 3 so both missed since the wrench was considered a light melee weapon and the soldier couldn't attack without getting one of his own technicians. I dove in and punched the first technician rolled a 4 and a 6 for the hit and he rolled a 3 for the armor check (vs. a TN of 5+ for light armor from his work suit) and I killed the first tech with one punch (since he was a Minion with only one hit).
• I spun left and ducked the attack of the second minion (Fortune in the middle, Player narrates successes) because he rolled a 2 to hit me and then creamed him with a 4 followed by him rolling a 1 on his armor check. His death left me open and the Soldier fired his Photon Rifle at me and rolled a 2 missing as I raced forward.
• He got another shot and hit with a 3 but I rolled a 4 for my armor check so it was only a painful graze which I shrugged off and then I palmed his helmet with one hand and punched straight through his faceplate with the other (rolled a 6 and a 6 to hit which was a crit and a 4 for the unnecessary armor check doing 2 hits of damage and the soldier only had two hits) killing him instantly.

So far I'm a walking breathing catastrophe.

• I search the techs and the guard for a key or something to tell me where to go next and rolled a 3 so I got a key to the guard post just up the way. I insert the key and walk into what must have been a kennel because I am attacked by 4 guard "Dogs" with heavy natural armor (Armor Check of 3+). 8 rolls, one Action die and a bunch of narration later and there are 4 dead "dogs" and one very chewed up and bloodied Space Ranger.
• I rest and recover myself back to the other side of bloodied and then hack the guard room computer with a 6 and another 6 meaning I get exactly where to go and all of the codes I need to get there.
• My GM says I realize that one of the dogs would make a great shield against Photon Rifle fire so I take one and spend the rest of the game dual wielding Photon Rifle and "Dog".
• I would have given HIM Action Die for the cool image but he gave me one because he couldn't quit giggling.
  
• I hump the gun and the dog to the door of the launch bay and find it guarded by two heavily armed alien Space Marines.
• How do I know it is the right door? Because the GM told me, "It has 6 giant flashing red arrows pointing at the door". He was not about to let me miss what was important due to being too subtle.
• GM asked if I was going to be crafty or charge the door, giving me a chance to be smart, but I was having none of it and charged with rifle blazing protected by a "dog".
• This was a bad idea because the guards were fast (two attacks each), tough (3 hits each) and heavily armored (3+ Armor Saves).
• I shot up one in a blaze of Photon Rifle fire (rolled a 4 and was told I had a rapid fire Photon Rifle so I got another attack with a 6 and he rolled a 1 and a 2 for Armor Saves) but then they opened fire and I was down to one hit before I reached hand to hand range.
• I finished off the one I'd already shot up but was blown to smithereens by controlled point blank fire from the other one (GM rolled two 6s and I rolled a 1 for my armor check) and my last thought was how I should have been a bit smarter as the alien Space Marine walked over, put his rifle between my eyes and pulled the trigger.

I actually had an Action Die I could have used but I forgot and at that point the GM was doing his "killed the good guy" dance with a grin from ear to ear so I figured I'd succeeded in creating another happy customer and the outcome felt right so I let him bask in his success... and collected my $2 from his mom.

The GM told me afterwards, "This is going to be so COOL! I can't wait to play with my friends!" And in fact I got an email from his mom Monday morning saying they went home and the played through two more scenarios that night and she thought it was pretty cool too.

Total time was maybe 20 minutes and this would have made a perfect prelude to a longer scenario like the pre-opening credit mini scenario from a James Bond movie. Of course this could also be THE scenario for kids today that don't have a lot of time and want to play something for half an hour or so before dinner.

Neil Striker

[Devon Oratz]

Probably not helpful feedback, but: that's awesome!

If your system is so simple a ten year old can GM it with no confusion, you must be doing some things right.