We Solve It With SCIENCE
I added a section to Under a Hostile Sun on the ways the currency system can allow for creative solutions for problems, and a table that gives guidance on how much a potion for different problems should cost. I added this to the Creative Commons SRD as well.
The resource currency system is one of Hostile Sun’s key ideas. There is a web of game systems– the currency tree, alchemy potions, creature taming, blockchain economy, bribing and now mad science solutions to narrative obstacles – that all go back to the currency system.
The hope is, instead of memorizing a litany of rules, the GM and players can build up a sort of internal game economy where players come to understand how many resources (and, narratively, which resources) are needed to solve ever bigger problems. Instead of memorizing rules, when the GM acknowledges that a proposed solution comes with a resource cost, the players are always confronted with that question:
Is it worth the cost? Or should we hold our resources for potential bigger problems around the corner? This choice is more interesting than probabilistic dice rolls.
Multiple Solutions
A bonus to the Resource Currency System, and its related lore, is that it allows characters with different personalities to solve problems in different ways. There is more than one way to use Alchemy to solve a problem. If a bunch of creatures are blocking a route, depending on the nature of the PCs, they may make a potion that:
- Put the creatures to sleep (Arcane Algae based), allowing safe passage
- Cause an explosion to scare the creatures off (Molten Minerals based)
- Build a bridge so a different path can be taken (Odd Ore based)
- Give a pet wings so they can fly the party over the creatures (Strange Sap based)
Thus the players creativity and the current stores the party has will together lead to a wide range of possible outcomes!
New Art Coming In
As always, more images are coming. The below was made with photoshop.
And unrelated, the morning’s doodle.
The Martian Muckraker 