A few friends and I started a Short Campaign of SIS last week, using the "Making Contact" book I had another friend pick up for me from GenCon. We're off to a good start!

Of the four planets proposed for colonization, all of the environments were Subterranean. The discussion quickly came down to two favored options:
Planet: Wool
Primary Species: Woolworms
Alluring: Delicious
Disturbing: Biting
Job: #FFC624 #ABC3C2 #000084 (Taxi Driver)

Planet: "Earth"
Primary Species: Thals
Alluring: Sleek skin
Disturbing: Bulging eyes
Job: <Something I forget> (Food Engineer)

Eventually we decided on Earth. Taxi Driving in an unknown world seemed too intimidating, and a planet populated by delicious sentient beings who apparently bite each other regularly was also a turnoff. (Though Earth also has Woolworms present, so we'll get to explore them a bit anyway)

I have a few questions as we move into our second session on Thursday:
1) Are the Making Contact colonist/colony/assorted record sheets online anywhere? We're currently using the ones from the earlier playtest document, but they're not quite the same.

2) We're going to start Investigating soon. It's not entirely clear what the total set of responsibilities the Principal Investigator of a given Investigation Question has. Are they just the player who happens to be tasked with the bookkeeping for the question? Is their colonist supposed to be taking the lead on this (given that they get the Colonist Resource when you get to the 3-investigation mark)? How do we distribute the three questions amongst five colonists?

I think those are the two main things so far, but I may have more in a day or two. I'm looking forward to digging into this strange planet called Earth.

Hi there!

I've put the new record sheets up on the website.

2) We're going to start Investigating soon. It's not entirely clear what the total set of responsibilities the Principal Investigator of a given Investigation Question has. Are they just the player who happens to be tasked with the bookkeeping for the question?Is their colonist supposed to be taking the lead on this (given that they get the Colonist Resource when you get to the 3-investigation mark)?

They take primary responsibility for Investigating the questions. Others may also be the focus (ie make a roll) to Investigate a question, but the Lead is the one who records what they find. Yes, when you get the third mark, they should take the lead so they can create whatever resource you find.

How do we distribute the three questions amongst five colonists?
Have two sets of Colonists pair up and tackle a question together, and the third can go to one alone. The pairs might trade off investigating different aspects that relate to their training. Anyone can still help that third investigator, they don't have to work alone, but they will have to do more of the heavy lifting.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions. I also have some errata to post that I will put online tonight or tomorrow.

best,
Emily