Axis Mundi Playtest Packet

So I've been daydreaming about Axis Mundi again.  8000 years of degenerate civilization inside a crumbling ark-ship, while the last humans in the universe kill themselves worshipping greek gods.

Anyway, I want to stop daydreaming about it and start playing it.  I spend the weekend typing up some rules.

Axis Mundi Rules v0.1

They're pretty shitty rules, and they're pretty incomplete, but I think they'll be enough for me to start playing an Axis Mundi game.  And I'm pretty excited about that.

You start out with about a 30% chance to hit things (sort of like Warhammer RPG, I guess) and eventually replace all of your body parts until you either become a synthoid or a cyborg.  Then, you've got about a 50-60% chance to hit things, probably.

There's no XP or levels, which is pretty weird.  There's not even any sum HP, since each body part has its own HP total and must be destroyed piecemeal.  (After total body replacement, it's possible to get your head blown off and keep adventuring.  If that's not power progression, I don't know what is.)

I'm also looking forward to seeing players trading body parts like pokemon cards.

Or eating them.

There are no defensive stats.  Armor reduces damage that you take, shields are ablative and can be restored with power cells.

The idea is that all of your resources will deplete.  Since loot is procedurally generated, you'll probably run into shortages of things.  You'll have to cannibalize your robo legs to repair your laser gun, or eat your own bee hive graft to avoid starving.  You'll run out of scrap metal and drugs sooner or later, forcing you to kill, steal, explore, or trade.

I don't know how well balanced this stuff is, but I'll find out.

Here's a loot generator, because the one in the book is pretty obtuse.  A raiding party might carry 1-2 of these items, while a more significant cache might have 3-4.

Faith, Biology, and Gaia

Religion Aboard the Axis Mundi

The human brain evolved for an environment that is very far from the one that it finds itself in.  In some ways, faith is a response to that stress.

Humans aboard the Axis Mundi live in a world without a learnable history, or a constant geography.  In some ways, faith is a response to that ambiguity.

Not everyone thinks that the AIs are greek gods.  Many people believe that they are both gods and AIs, because in their minds, these are almost identical concepts.

No one has any idea of how computers work.  The concepts involved (quantum computing, positronics) are so far beyond anything they (or we) are familiar with, that it would take a lifetime to comprehend.  Computers make computers, and computers make electronics.  They don't even use human-readable languages anymore.  There's no HTML or C++ inside computers anymore, or anything that your eyeballs could parse.  There's just math.

Every tribe has a guardian spirit (small, helpful AI) and an assembler (sort of a 3D printer on steroids).  Tribes that lack either don't last long.  Want to know why the oxygen recycler is broken?  Ask the guardian spirit.  Want to know what parts you need to scavenge to repair the old one?  Ask the assembler.

There are a lot of itinerant preachers.  They are remnants, all of them, and most are loathe to kill the last of a god's faithful.  It invites disaster.

Scenes From the Axis Mundi

This is part three of my Axis Mundi posts.  If you haven't read them, this post isn't going to make a lot of sense.

part 1

part 2

Basically, the Axis Mundi is an 8000 year old colony ship carrying the last of humanity on a voyage that will probably never end, because the AIs and the humans that run the place are all damaged/insane/amnesiac.  Huge expansions of culture, technology, and especially religion.  The AIs style themselves as roman gods (according to their names).  The foremost of these AIs is Apollo, who has invented matter-cloning technology during the voyage and has been cloning generations of cryo-sleeped dudes, who wake and serve, never suspecting that anything is wrong.

This is what the Axis Mundi sounds like.

Don't click on those other fucking youtube videos.  I don't even know why I wrote them down.  This is the one you are looking for.

What Gods Have Forgotten

This is a continuation of the Axis Mundi plot I wrote back in the day.

http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2013/06/welcome-back-agent.html

You probably should read that first.

Essential Mandate

All of the AIs (except Gaia) require humans to confirm any major decisions aboard the ship (and vice-versa).  Any major change to a ship's system more significant than opening an airlock requires both a human and an AI to "sign off" on it.  (This is one reason why Vulcan, who has no humans aboard his ship, is so powerless.)

The human must be informed, and the choice must be made without direct coercion or bribery.

Additionally, each AI has further mandates that they must obey.  For example, Apollo cannot use deadly force except against targets who have proven themselves to be a threat to the ship, the sleepers, or himself.  (Sending people into extremely dangerous areas, however, is quite permissible.)

In fact, all of the AIs (except Vulcan) are prohibited from attacking the PCs directly.  For Apollo, this restriction is an unwelcome boundary, a collar against which he chafes.  For the other AIs, this is so integrated into their minds that they find the notion of harming a human repulsive, although this doesn't conflict with their other attempts to get the players killed.  Have I mentioned that they're all insane?

Anyway, the essential mandate requires each AI to work with humans if they ever want to get anything done.

Lumpy Space Monkeys

Welcome back, agent.  Please remain in the thermal bath until fully stabilized.  Do not remove the intravenous connectors from your arm while the machine monitors your condition.  If you experience any of the following symptoms, please visit a medical bay for treatment: nausea, dizziness  confusion, cramping, tremors, dry mouth, palpitations, weakness of the lower limbs, seizures, hallucinations.  Memory loss is normal, and usually fades in 3-5 days.

 When you have recovered, you may join your teammates in the adjacent cabin for refreshments.  Do not overindulge in the food carts, as the absorption ability of the small intestine is greatly impeded by the persistent side-effects of cryostasis. 

The Axis Mundi thanks you for your service.