Wandering Spark
Wandering Spark
1
Wandering Spark - A Micro RPG
If a Directive would conflict with the task at In each location, the GM describes the
hand, The Android cannot roll. place’s general vibe (roll on the table at the
bottom of the page if you want a hand).
◇ 50-69 is a partial success.
While in a location, players can do the
◇ 70-100 is a full success.
following actions:
◇ >100 is a critical success.
◇ Find Work: Whether it’s washing cars,
Teamwork selling street food or catching criminals;
The Engineer and The Android can work someone in the location is paying
together when tackling a roll. Decide who’s surprisingly good money for rough work.
taking the lead, and both players roll.
◇ Gather Information: Has anyone seen
Whoever rolls higher is used in the final roll
result, plus the Skill of whoever is leading. the woman in the purple jacket? Dig up
key info that could lead to finding your
Bonuses from relevant Odd-jobs, Functions yearning - or the next location to visit.
and Directives are also added to the result, if ◇ Shop for Supplies: Restock on food, fuel,
relevant. This counts as both players making computer components… and likely get
a roll. into trouble on the way.
Desire Points The GM works with the players to flesh out
Progress on The Engineer’s yearning is the nature of what information they’d be
measured in Desire Points, representing how searching for, what supplies are around, etc.
close they are to achieving/realising that
goal. Once 7 Desire points are accrued, the The Engineer has final say on what actions
goal is within reach! they and The Android pursue - they can split
up if need be.
Finding someone with useful information,
earning money from jobs, and gathering To do any of these actions is a single roll, and
relevant resources earns Desire Points. Desire points are awarded based on the
outcome:
Jobs and Travelling
Wandering Spark plays as a series of quick ◇ A partial success earns one Desire
vignettes players travel between different Point.
towns, cities and satellite communities, ◇ A full success earns two Desire Points.
largely connected by highways and
◇ A critical success earns four Desire
wasteland.
Points.
10 It’s Just London??? River Flowing Through Solar Panels Line Everything
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Wandering Spark - A Micro RPG
Once both players have rolled and resolved ◇ If both players think the same person
their outcomes, it’s time to move on to the should get the Desire Points, that
next location. person gets the points.
◇ If both players think they should get
Unwinding and Sparking Memories
the points, no Desire points are accrued.
When leaving a location, players can hold a
scene of The Engineer and Android as they ◇ If the players think each other should
unwind at day’s end. get the points, the Desire Points are
split in half. If there’s an odd number of
They might be checking into a motel, sitting points, the players roll off against each
around a campfire, speeding down a other with no modifiers - the highest
highway at night. Rolls can be made during result gets the remainder point.
these scenes also, if you’d like to weave in
some additional uncertainty. Ending the Game
Here, The Android may choose to ‘spark a When The Engineer or The Android gain
memory’; something about the day’s events seven Desire Points, the next location they
makes them flash back to their days of visit is where that Yearning can be realised.
service, relating to one of their Directives.
The player who has the Desire Points makes
Play out this memory as a scene – The one last roll to see how achieving their
Engineer may act as one of the scene’s Yearning turns out. This roll can be done as
characters if they like. Teamwork.
Once the scene ends, that Directive is now The other player may spend any number of
broken. The Android may no longer use it in their own Desire Points to increase the value
a roll, but they may change their Willpower, of the roll by 10 per point, describing how
Creativity or Charm value to 35. they sacrifice their own ambitions to see
their partner’s actualised.
Describe how some of The Android’s true
personality starts to rise to the surface. Music Suggestions
◇ Yussef Kamaal - Black Focus
If this is the first time The Android has
◇ Yoko Kanno - Cowboy Bebop
broken a Directive, that player reveals their
hidden yearning; it now has its own Desire ◇ Adrian Younge - The Electronique Void
Point track. ◇ Masafumi Takada - No More Heroes
In future Unwinding scenes, The Engineer ◇ Nujabes and Fat Jon - Samurai
and Android can discuss each other’s Champloo: Departure
Yearnings to move Desire Points between ◇ Shoji Meguro - Shin Megami Tensei III:
the two tracks. Nocturne
Two Yearnings ◇ Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
From this point on, The Android may pick for
themselves what to do in a location. If The
This micro RPG was written by
Nathan Blades. Find more micro
Android does an action in a location alone, games and scenarios at:
any Desire Points accrued are added to their
patreon.com/PhantomArtsEnt
own track.
& sixofspades.itch.io
If The Android and Engineer team up on a
roll, both players secretly write down who
they want to give the Desire Points too.