- Provide useful information about the game universe as the characters explore it.
- Players do not need to roll dice to learn about their circumstances.
- Be helpful and direct with your answers to their questions.
- Respond honestly, describe consistently, and always let them know they can keep asking questions.
- Default to context and realism rather than numbers and mechanics.
- If something the players want to do is sincerely impossible, no roll will allow them to do it.
- Is what the player describes and how they leverage the situation sensible? Let it happen.
- Saves cover a great deal of uncertain situations and are often all that is necessary for risky actions.
- The game universe is organic, malleable and random. It intuits and makes sharp turns.
- Use random tables and generators to develop situations, not stories or plots.
- NPCs remember what the PCs say and do, and how they affect the universe.
- NPCs don't want to die. Infuse their own self-interest and will to live into every personality.
- Emergent experience of play is what matters, not math or character abilities. Give the players weapon trainers and personal quests to facilitate improvement and specialization.
- Pay attention to the needs and wants of the players,then put realistic opportunities in their path.
- A dagger to your throat will kill you, regardless of your expensive armor and impressive training.
- The game universe produces real risk of pain and death for the player characters.
- Telegraph serious danger to players when it is present. The more dangerous, the more obvious.
- Put traps in plain sight and let the players take time to figure out a solution.
- Give players opportunities to solve problems and interact with the universe.
- A reward is specific to the mission for is granted. It tells a story.
- Reward is highly valuable and is worth wealth and prestige.
- Artifacts are not Rewards, though they are useful and interesting.
- Use Reward as a lure to exotic locations under the protection of intimidating foes.
- Give players a solid choice to force outcomes when the situation lulls.
- Use binary "so, A or B?" responses when their intentions are vague.
- Work together using this conversational method to keep the game moving.
- Ensure that the player character's actions leave their mark on the game universe.
- Occasionally you will want an element of randomness (e.g. the weather, unique character knowledge,etc.).
- In these situations, roll 1d6. A roll of 4 or more generally favors the players.
- A roll of 3 or under tends to mean bad luck for the PCs or their allies.
- Attributes and related saves do not define your character. They are tools.
- Don't ask only what your character would do, ask what you would do, too.
- Be creative with your intuition, items, and connections.
- Seek consensus from the other players before barreling forward.
- Stay on the same page about goals and limits, respecting each other and accomplishing more as a group than alone.
- Asking questions and listening to detail is more useful than any stats, items, or skills you have.
- Take the referee's description without suspicion, but don't shy away from seeking more information.
- There is no single correct way forward.
- Treat NPCs as if they were real people, and rely on your curiosity to safely gain information and solve problems.
- You'll find that most people are interesting and will want to talk things through before getting violent.
- Fighting is a choice and rarely a wise one; consider whether violence is the best way to achieve your goals.
- Try to stack the odds in your favor and retreat when things seem unfavorable.
- Think of ways to avoid your obstacles through reconnaissance, subtlety, and fact-finding.
- Do some research and ask around about your objectives.
- Set goals and use your meager means to take steps forward.
- Expect nothing. Earn your reputation.
- Keep things moving forward and play to see what happens.
- The sidereal space is vast, impossible to cross without the appropriate means.
- Out there you are almost always alone, in case of trouble nobody is likely to help you.
- Alien creatures, pathogens and unfamiliar technology are the order of the day in uncharted regions.
- There are five galaxies in the Charted Space.
- There are billions of unknown system in there ready to be explored (and exploited).
- Mapping space is profitable: governments and organizations are willing to pay well for data on new targets and territories.
- The discovery of oddspace opened the door to interstellar travel, at 1 parsec/hour.
- Natural and artificial wormholes are used to reduce the time between clusters.
- The Charted Space is dotted with military, commercial and industrial stations that form the nodes of the travel network.
- Humans are not the only species out there nor the most prominent one.
- Extinct species have left deep traces, such as artifacts and lost technology, usually found in ruins.
- Some species are as old as galaxies and still active and present.
- Empires (federations, commonwealths, etc.) are vast multi-species entities covering large portions of the galaxies.
- Their influence is great especially on small independent nations.
- Territorial claims are often disputed and cause conflict. Frontiers are risky but profitable places.
- Technology is not all at the same level in Charted Space
- It varies by country/species, but also from core to fringe of each one.
- Exporting advanced technology is profitable but can cause severe problems.
- The species of known space are amalgamated in a precarious multiculturalism that generates both growth and conflict.
- Cosmopolitanism is a dominant trait of empires, distrust or xenophobia of smaller nations.
- Spacers are usually open and welcoming and have no problem working with people of other species.
- Spacers have different ways of making profit, but all of them are risky.
- Paramilitary and mercenary missions are a great source of income.
- Interstellar trade, search for artifacts, or exploration missions are another common activity of spacers.
