Scavengers
This was a welcome surprise, I can't remember backing it but I am actually quite interested in the RPGs that try and mechanically model a common enterprise where players need to balance their character's self-interest with the good of the group that character belongs to.
Scavengers has its tongue firmly stuck in its cheek with its background Galatic War filled with Cold War stereotypes being exploited by a scavenging society that pastiches the ideas of Ayn Rand. The scavengers warp into the aftermath of battles between the other groups looking to loot salvage and ransom survivors of the battle. The ultimate goal of the game is get rich or die trying.
Mechanically its a fairly straight-forward generate a pool and generate successes on a 5 or 6. Most of the addition systems are about the metagame surrounding the individual runs. A salvage run can be relatively low prep but still requires a GM to tie the random elements together and present them in an interesting way to the other players. It might have been nice to look at GM-less play but ultimately this is a game about a crew looting people less fortunate than themselves so having a GM reduces the element of PvP.
The artwork by Travis Henson is bright, cartoony and evocative, reminding me of early Foglio work.
I'm not sure whether the game has legs but there's some interesting design I want to explore and while the humour might not be timeless I'm sure it was stand a few outings.
Scavengers has its tongue firmly stuck in its cheek with its background Galatic War filled with Cold War stereotypes being exploited by a scavenging society that pastiches the ideas of Ayn Rand. The scavengers warp into the aftermath of battles between the other groups looking to loot salvage and ransom survivors of the battle. The ultimate goal of the game is get rich or die trying.
Mechanically its a fairly straight-forward generate a pool and generate successes on a 5 or 6. Most of the addition systems are about the metagame surrounding the individual runs. A salvage run can be relatively low prep but still requires a GM to tie the random elements together and present them in an interesting way to the other players. It might have been nice to look at GM-less play but ultimately this is a game about a crew looting people less fortunate than themselves so having a GM reduces the element of PvP.
The artwork by Travis Henson is bright, cartoony and evocative, reminding me of early Foglio work.
I'm not sure whether the game has legs but there's some interesting design I want to explore and while the humour might not be timeless I'm sure it was stand a few outings.
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