[RPG]: Full Light, Full Steam, reviewed by Colin Fredericks (3/5)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12685.phtml

Colin Fredericks's Summary:

A game of the Victorian space navy, with some innovative mechanics and an excellent advice section.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Dan Davenport]

Interesting...

What are the attributes, and how broad are the skills?

Also, what sorts of creatures inhabit the various planets, and are they detailed?

Finally, how much does the setting differ from that of Space: 1889?

Thanks for the review, Colin!

[Destriarch]

Originally Posted by Dan Davenport

Finally, how much does the setting differ from that of Space: 1889?

You took the words right out of my mouth. It does sound very similar to that particular golden oldie, doesn't it?

Ash

[Joshua BishopRoby]

Hey, folks.

First off, thanks for the review, Colin! I really appreciate the time you spent going through the game.

In response to the simple, factual questions, FLFS has six attributes (Acumen, Brawn, Coordination, Intellect, Leadership, and Savoir-Faire) and thirty skills. The skills are very broad, like "Steam" and "Athletics." The book describes Venerians and Martians, hints at Selenites (on the Moon), and leaves the door open for playgroups to add in others if they want a higher alien count. I'll leave others to answer on the quality of their presentation.

As far as similarities with Space: 1889, you are very correct. The basic premise is very similar. In fact, FLFS in part grew out of my dissatisfaction with the steampunk titles that were out there. It seemed to me that a lot of these games focused on weird tech and alien planets but either treated the characters with dismissive detail or fetishistic historical "accuracy." If there's one big difference between FLFS and Space:1889, it's that characters are placed directly in the center of the game, and players are given as many tools as possible to craft and play the vibrant characters they want to.

[Dan Davenport]

Originally Posted by Joshua BishopRoby

The book describes Venerians and Martians, hints at Selenites (on the Moon), and leaves the door open for playgroups to add in others if they want a higher alien count.

What about alien critters?

[Scorpio Rising]

I've heard various rumblings about "thematic batteries" and how they are the next step of development from Keys/Spiritual Attributes/Apsects.

But what do they actually do? How are they different? What will they bring to my game that these other gaming technologies don't?

Curious,

SR.

[The Last Conformist]

What's the commanding officer, mechanically speaking? Some sort of collective NPC ally/hireling?

The mechanical side of this doesn't sound like my cup of team, but I like this kind of settings. Now, what happened to to that Space 1889/CoC crossbreed I saw somewhere ... ?

[Wyvern76]

Originally Posted by Joshua BishopRoby

In response to the simple, factual questions, FLFS has six attributes (Acumen, Brawn, Coordination, Intellect, Leadership, and Savoir-Faire) and thirty skills. The skills are very broad, like "Steam" and "Athletics."

What does Acumen mean in this context? And what's the Steam skill used for?

The book describes Venerians and Martians, hints at Selenites (on the Moon)

So what are they like?

Also is FLFS available as a PDF only, and if not why not? It sounds interesting, but I just don't have $30 to spend on it.

Wyvern

[Miskatonic]

Originally Posted by The Last Conformist

The mechanical side of this doesn't sound like my cup of team, but I like this kind of settings. Now, what happened to to that Space 1889/CoC crossbreed I saw somewhere ... ?

Oddly enough, I'm in exactly the opposite ship. The setting leaves me cool -- ship-to-ship combat is like the least appealing aspect of Victorian scientific romance that I can think of, I actually LIKE the alien critters part -- but I'm terribly interested in seeing what this Thematic Batteries mechanic is all about.

[Joshua BishopRoby]

More answers to questions!

Thematic Batteries have a couple of mechanical tie-ins throughout the game, but the most prominent is as a trait on your character sheet. You can give yourself a bonus to any roll when the battery comes into play by discharging the battery -- so if you have "Grizzled Veteran" you can give yourself a boost in a firefight in the tunnels under the Moon. The only catch is that you can only discharge the battery after you've charged it. You charge a battery by giving yourself a disadvantage in a roll -- so your "Grizzled Veteran" is maybe less than polite to the young whippersnapper of a port official that you have to deal with. Players always have complete control over when they charge and discharge their thematic batteries, and they also decide how much of a charge is used. In rough terms, this puts advantages and disadvantages in the hands of the players, rather than as something the GM has to remember to put into the game.

Alien Critters are presented, although not in stat blocks and the like. The game does explain how to use any of the critters mentioned as either NPCs or parts of Sets (which are statted). Off the top of my head, there are Venerian Blood Wasps, Martian Sandbeasts, Mercurial Horrors, plus lots of flora presented in the Horticulture section. And the door is always open for players -- both GM and 'regular' players -- to create new critters as they like.

The Commanding Officer is created collaboratively by everybody at the table, and most often portrayed by the GM, although players might pick up the Captain or whatever if their regular PC isn't in the scene.

Acumen is staying aware of one's surroundings; it's used for Perception check sorts of things but also by Gunnery officers trying to shoot down a dozen targets.

Steam is a mechanical skill used for repairing, operating, building, scrutinizing, buying, and selling steam engines -- basically anything that has to do with steam power falls under this skill.

PDF-only is not available at this time, but very well may be later in the year.

Ship-to-Ship Combat is performed just like any other cooperative endeavor in the game: you select a leader and everybody does different things supporting the leader, who makes a capstone roll with bonuses from everybody else. Which means that if you have a Chief Engineer he does a roll for damage control, if you have a Hot Shot Pilot he does crazy shiphandling rolls, if you have a marine he does rolls for boarding actions, and so on. Everybody contributes in their own fashion, and it moves quick.

Venerians are the white man's burden alien race, the savages that proper gentlemen have civilized and brought all the benefits of culture to -- oh, and they're used as indentured servants.

Martians, by contrast, are the noble savages of the game, the folks with inscrutible mystic connections to the world who deliver dire portents and disdain the rattling, clanking world of modern man.

Did I miss anything?