Lasers and feelings

There are two ways to solve any problem in space: Lasers, or Feelings.

You are the crew of the interstellar scout ship "Raptor." Your mission is to explore uncharted regions of space, deal with aliens both friendly and deadly, and defend the consortium worlds against space dangers. Captain Darcy has been overcome by the strange psychic entity known as "Something Else," leaving you to fend for yourselves while he recovers in a medical pod.

The idea is very Star Trek. Gameplay runs more on rule-of-cool and takes well to any scifi tropes.

It's a one-page RPG written by John Harper, who offers the one-page rules sheet to everybody.

Character Creation

Choose a character style: alien, android, dangerous, hotshot, intrepid, savvy, or sexy.

Choose a character role: doctor, envoy, engineer, explorer, pilot, scientist, or soldier.

Choose your attribute number: 2, 3, 4 or 5. A high number means you’re better at Lasers (technology; science; cold rationality; calm, precise action). a low number means you’re better at Feelings (intuition; diplomacy; seduction; wild, passionate action).

Name your character something cool and space-y, like Jim Tiberius, or Teeth McCoy, or Janx Nebula, or Zaphod Dent, or Zapp Brannigan.

Every character has this starting equipment: a Consortium uniform (with built-in vacc-suit for space walks), a super-sweet space-phone-camera-communicator-scanner thing (with universal translator), a variable-beam phase pistol (set to stun, usually).

Your character's goal: choose one or create your own: become captain, Meet sexy aliens, shoot bad guys, find new worlds, solve weird space mysteries, prove yourself, or keep being awesome (you have nothing to prove)

Your goal: Get involved in wacky space adventure and make the best of it.

As a group, the players pick two strengths for their spaceship: Fast, Nimble, Well-Armed, Powerful Shield, Superior Sensors, Cloaking Device, Fighter Craft. Also pick one problem: Fuel Hog (always needs energy crystals), Only One Medical Pod (and captain Darcy is using it), Horrible Circuit Breakers (during battle, consoles on the bridge tend to explode), Grim Reputation ( captain Darcy has a distasteful history)

Contests

When you take risks, roll a die (d6) to see how it turns out. Add a die if you are prepared for this risk, and add a die if your character is an expert at this sort of thing. If you want to help someone, roll one die to see if you'd succeed, and if you do they get to add yet another die.

If you're using Lasers to succeed, you want to roll under your attribute number. If you're using Feelings to succeed, you want to roll over your attribute number. Remember if you're helping, you don't need to use the same method as the person you're helping (though the GM may rule no amount of shooting can help soothe a crying child).

• 0 dice succeed: Gm says how things get worse
• 1 dice succeeds: Barely managed. GM assigns a complication, harm, or cost.
• 2 dice succeed: You done good.
• 3 dice succeed: Critical success! GM assigns a benefit.

If you roll your number exactly, you have Laser Feelings and you get to ask the GM a question about the situation and they'll answer honestly. It also counts as a success.

GMing

Go for high adventure: straightforward story, defeat the villain, save the day. If you don't already have a space adventure in mind, roll four dice:

roll	Who	Wants To	The	Which Will
1	Zorgon the Conqueror	Destroy/Corrupt	Space Pirate Queen/King	Destroy a solar system
2	The Hive Armada	Steal/Capture	Void Crystals	Reverse Time
3	Rogue Captain	Bond With	Star Dreadnought	Enslave a Planet
4	Space Pirates	Protect/Empower	Wormhole	Star a war/invasion
5	Cyber Zombies	Build/Synthesize	Ancient Space Ruin	Rip a hole in reality
6	Alien Brain Worms	Pacify/Occupy	Alien Artifact	Fix Everything

As a GM, don't play to win against the players but to find out how they will defeat the story's threat. Introduce the threat by showing evidence of its recent villainy. Before the threat can affect the characters, show that it's going to happen and ask the players how they'll react. ie. "Zorgon charges the megacannons on his ship! what do you do?" or "Now that you're alone, the Queen slips her arm around your waist. what do you do?"

Call for a roll when the situation is uncertain. Don't pre-plan the outcome, allow things to fail or unexpectedly succeed. Use failed rolls to push the action forward. Never let the situation stay the same after a roll is made, success or failure.

Ask questions and build on the answers the players give you. "Have any of you encountered Void Cultists before? Tell us how that went down."

Reskins

It's a one-page RPG, it's simple as hell, of course people are gonna reskin it for themselves.

Swords and Scrolls

• Daisho (a Legend of the Five Rings hack)
• Gold & Girl (thank you for being a friend)
• Lasers and Treason (a Paranoia take on it)
• Neon & Chrome (what you looking at chummer?)
• Pizza and Heroics (teen superheroes)
• Parley & Plunder (pirates)
• Politics and Policies (electoral action)
• Scrolls and Swords (fantasy romp)
• Sexy Assassins (fuck marry kill without marriage)
• Swords & Sorcery (OSR Fantasy hack)
• Truth or Daring ('80s movies, Stranger Things)
• Police Procedure (exactly what it says on the tin)