Playtesting: a N00b perspective

Posted on Jun 22, 2010 | 2 comments

OK, so picture this scene:

You’re exploring an abandoned RRS mining facility. The air inside is breathable and you and your crew go exploring in one of the larger areas. This area contains a great deal of rubble, vats full of toxic stuff and a pool of the same dominates the room.

At the other end of the room, right in front of the doors you and the crew need to get to, a nice little war is beginning. Upon closer inspection, the warring parties are Nar weevils and Kar’jah fighting for dominion of this toxic space.

Essentially, you’ve got furry bugs and plant-monkeys between you and your goal – but you also have guns and your shield skill kicks ass (being the crew’s shield mechanic does have its privileges).

This was the opening to my first playtest session of Free Spacer.

While one of our team members tried repeatedly to toss a metal locker in the toxic goo to see what would happen, the rest of us started in on the killing.

I learned very quickly to appreciate being able to pool my dice in defence or offence as the battle progressed.

Two plant-monkeys coming at you? More shields! Taking an aimed shot at a fuzzy bug from a reasonably safe spot? More fire power! We ended up with a room full of scorched enemy, minimal damage to the team and a locker that refused to be moved.

The next room got even more interesting.

I’m one of the first into the loading dock- but I’ve managed to completely misunderstand that sneaking into a place is a declared mode of movement. I did not declare it and might as well be wearing a giant “shoot me” sign.

This will not go well. A ragtag crew from a ship near the facility are hiding at the back of the room and preparing to take shots at me as I stand around behind a flimsy shelter.

My dice pool (most of which is in defence) is my saving grace. I take hits for sure, but my shields are good enough that the guy shooting me takes damage as the shots bounce back and hit him. Ha! How do you like those awesome dice rolls jerk?

There are no rules about what you need to roll to successfully moon an enemy though (I know because I asked).

More of the crew come in and they manage to find better spots to hide in. My new goal is to repeatedly shoot the guy who fired on me first – and then pick off the two people with him. I take several aimed shots and coupled with my uncanny ability to roll zeroes (zeroes are good – you get a re-roll) I still can’t seem to kill the guy.

My fellow crewmembers rally magnificently and even though they are wounded, we manage to kill all but a couple of guys who run away, and in my head are shrieking with fear like little girls.

I look at our battle board of carnage and decide my first Free Spacer triumph must be expressed artistically (and anyway, the markers were left within my reach and I’m a compulsive doodler). Here is the scene of the evening’s victory:

And what did I learn this evening? Keep your shields up, take aimed shots and remember: over time, moderate damage = death.

-Renee McTavish is a writer, new FS playtester and would one day like to tame one of the plant-monkeys as a butler. See more of her stuff at Rambleicious.ca.