Have I mentioned I started a #PlayByPost server on #Discord? I am guiding a team of five players in a session of #OrbitalBlues!

I converted character sheets from #DeathInSpace and #OrbitalBlues to PNG, then imported them into my #SuperNote #Nomad to make templates, with the help of the companion Android app. This digital notebook is nothing short of brilliant.

I'm reading the #OrbitalBlues #ttrpg AN UNCHAINED MELODY (Playtest Edition), which is their "Quick Start" rules. This is another brilliant example of simplified rules that appears to move the roleplaying plot along easily while still providing sufficient bookkeeping. Thematically, the game has a lot of (#scifi) flavor.

@HeyeBodo @bohemiaspielkunst I've run #OrbitalBlues and played #Mothership, both are excellent rules-light systems, but very different vibes!

#Traveller I've also run and I do like it, but feel it's idea of what computers are and can do doesn't feel very much like Sci-fi in 2024 - I will have to see if #Mindjammer rectifies that, at some point.

How does #StarsWithoutNumber stack up?

@bohemiaspielkunst two weeks ago, I held a physical copy of #OrbitalBlues core rules in my hands (Terminal Entertainment Store, Frankfurt). Such a pretty book, and scenario-wise such a cool premise for a ttrpg. I was so close to buy it, but then it came to me that I will most probably prioritize #Mothership or #Traveller or #StarsWithoutNumber to cater my appetite for scifi

@HeyeBodo #OrbitalBlues ! I just got the digital copies of the first official supplement (After Burner) which reminded me that I never got the game on my table:
“This is the rock and roll future of yesteryear that never was—and nobody wanted.” It’s such a cool setting & a beautiful rules book! https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/collections/orbital-blues

I've finished up all of my custom Orbital Blues character sheets, and they're available for free download:
https://polyhedralnonsense.com/2024/07/26/orbital-blues-a-small-constellation-of-character-sheets-for-the-low-fi-sci-fi-rpg/

#TTRPG #OrbitalBlues #CharSheet

A self-described “lo-fi space western”, Orbital Blues is a simple 2d6 system, in some ways quite similar to Traveller, with a lot more emphasis on emotional stakes. I recently ran a one-shot and ended up making some custom character sheets.

The Game

Players in Orbital Blues will be playing low-rent adventurers in a run-down sci-fi frontier.

The three stats are Muscle, Savvy, and Grit. They start off with values from 0-2. Heart is basically hit points. It starts out as Muscle plus eight.

Each character also has Gambits, which are essentially Feats or Stunts.

For most actions, the player makes a Stat Check – roll 2d6, add the appropriate stat. 8+ is a success. Heart points can be spent to add points to a roll, and some rolls will have advantage or disadvantage.

So far, this doesn’t seem wildly different from Traveller/Cepheus Engine games. However, the heart of the game, the thing the makes the game unique, is the system of Troubles and Blues.

Troubles are described in the book as “summations of a character’s past misgivings, misdeeds, vices or regrets.” A number of Troubles are listed in the book. One is selected at character creation. Each trouble has a series of questions attached. New characters need to select two questions to answer. This allows the player to fill out the character’s background, and to provide plot hooks for the GM.

Blues are a measure of the emotional stress a character suffers. Whenever something bad happens, especially if it relates to a character’s Troubles, characters must make a Blues Check – roll 2D6 + Grit. If the roll is 8+, the character gains one Blues point. Each Trouble has a list of events that will cause characters to gain Blues points automatically.

When a character acquires 8 Blues points, they enter a dramatic scene called Trouble is Brewing where they confront the source of their trouble. After the scene, the character advances by doing one of the following: Restore Heart, gain a point in a stat, or gain a new Trouble\Gambit. Blues are then reduced to zero.

The point of all of this is clearly to promote more character-focused, emotional gameplay. The Trouble/Blues system is really interesting, but it seems likely that you need to run a campaign to get the full effect. A one-shot game will probably just feel like a session of Traveller.

There’s also a system of Credits & Debts to keep track of how much money the character has, without doing a lot of accounting. Basically, all you really need to know is – are the players flush or in debt?

Character Sheet

There’s already a perfectly serviceable character sheet available for Orbital Blues, but I wanted to play around with Affinity and some free fonts I’ve been collecting, so I made some alternate versions. They’re all visually distinct, but have essentially the same fields. They’re also all fillable, and allow you to enter a character image.

Boxes for Heart will be automatically generated. I’ve added this to my aging, rickety list of character sheets.

OrbitalBlues_CharSheet_BW

This one is probably the most practical one. It’s designed to be printed. Mostly used the Block font for the titles.

OrbitalBlues_CharSheet_Blue

This one is probably the least practical, and is mostly designed to be a literal version of the title – blue items in orbit. I used a Bauhaus 93 font for the titles.

OrbitalBlues_CharSheet_Yellow

This one was sort of inspired by industrial safety signs, like you might find on a run-down space station. The title font is blooop.

OrbitalBlues_CharSheet_Mono_Green

This one was designed to look like a monochrome monitor for online play. It’s based on a character sheet I made for Hostile. The title fonts are OCR-A II.

https://polyhedralnonsense.com/2024/07/26/orbital-blues-a-small-constellation-of-character-sheets-for-the-low-fi-sci-fi-rpg/

#CharacterSheets #FreeStuff #OrbitalBlues #Review #RPG #SciFi

Not sure why, but I keep making custom Orbital Blues character sheets.

#TTRPG #OrbitalBlues #CharSheet

Messing about with a custom character sheet for Orbital Blues. Still a WIP.

Not 100% sure about the font choices.

#TTRPG #CharSheet #OrbitalBlues

Just finished up a one-shot of Orbital Blues. We had fun, ending the session in a dramatic hotel shoot-out.

I don't think, however, you can get the full effect of the Blues/Troubles system in a one-shot.

Orbital Blues seems best suited for a short campaign.

#TTRPG #OrbitalBlues

There's a few days left for the Orbital Blues sale at the Bundle of Holding.

I'd recommend it.

Orbital Blues is essentially Emo Traveller.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/OrbitalBlues

#TTRPG #OrbitalBlues

War heute in ffm im #TerminalEntertainment und bin ganz angetan davon, wieviele Indie und #osr Games die im Sortiment haben. #OSE #Trophy #PasionDeLasPasiones und ein paar andere #pbta Sachen, #OrbitalBlues #DCC und #nsr Granaten wie #Runecairn …. Findet man nur noch recht selten. Oft gibts in Spielläden ja fast nur noch Boardgames, die Kartoffeltriade DSA-Cthulhu-Shadowrun + 5e
#pnpde

@kadomi Oben auf dem #PileOfShame liegen bei mir #DeathInSpace , #CorpBorg , #OrbitalBlues und demnächst #Dolmenwood . Oh, und #GOZR . (Ja, einige liegen da schon länger…)

via @popgeeks Orbital Blues RPG Review – Space Western Role Playing https://popgeeks.com/orbital-blues-rpg-review/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #News #Reviews #TabletopGames #orbitalblues #SoulmuppetPublishing

#RPGaDay2023 The coolest looking RPG product? #OrbitalBlues just blows me away by setting the mood through the images and design. I also like the aesthetics of #DeathInSpace , which gives the whole book a great 80s #Artzine feel, which fits the rules and the setting. https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/collections/orbital-blues

#RPGaDay2023 My favourite game which I never got to play? #OrbitalBlues - I love the setting and the rules are OK. The problem is that it always comes in 2nd when I ask my players. It’s also a game that I only want to play with people I know and trust due to role of trauma and mental health integrated in the mechanics of the game. https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/collections/orbital-blues

@LeviKornelsen @Whidou #TTRPG stuff for me:

#AdventuresinMiddleEarth/#LordoftheRingsRoleplaying
#OSR &#NSR
#TalesfromtheLoop
#bladesinthedark
#CallofCthulhu
#D&D5e (if pushed)
#TheOneRing
#T&T

Liking the look of:

#OrbitalBlues
#Spiritof77

Otherwise:

#Cycling
#CrystalPalaceFC
#Hauntology

@ChaskaTheMagicDog
You should check out Orbital Blues!
https://soulmuppet-store.co.uk/collections/orbital-blues
And it's soundtrack:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3JXCq0ePqJpdifQcojiyA4?si=36i-xBvSSXimKfIzBbcELQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3JXCq0ePqJpdifQcojiyA4
#OrbitalBlues

Aprovechando un cupón de descuento que tenía en drivethrurpg me he pillado el Orbital Blues, que lo describen como el juego de rol de Cowboy Bebop, sin ser Cowboy Bebop.

#rol #OrbitalBlues #rpg