Lasers and Feelings

We played a one session game of Lasers & Feelings on Friday this week.

I GMed, with no prep and barely any familiarity with the rules. This was my first time and I'd only made it about twenty minutes through an AP.

Our cast was Dr. Roboto (played by M), an Android Doctor and our acting captain (he knew all the protocols); Willis Turner (played by J), an Intrepid Explorer and junior officer; Hey, You (played by A), an Alien Envoy from the Hivemind, going around seeking converts like a military recruiter. Hey, You’s name is unpronounceable by human vocal cords.

The ship had a Cloaking Device, Superior Sensors, and a Grim Reputation. All three of those turned out to be totally justified.

This was fun and giggly and not all that serious. They traded their captain for freedom from pirates, murdered and spaced their previous acting captain, fled from the cops after a public brawl, turned off an evil AI Alpha Computer making cyberzombies, prevented a war by saving the Vogron-Consortium treaty within the Ancient Space Ruins from pirates that wanted to destroy it, killed the Vogron leader’s son (just because), bridged the gap between organic and synthetic life, and then destroyed the universe by causing a spatial paradox.

Yes, I stole Vogrons from Vogons in The Hitchhiker’s Guide, Alpha Computer from Paranoia, and everything else from somewhere. I was not particularly trying to be original and names are a weakpoint of mine (serious play basically requires name lists…).

As far as I can tell, everyone had fun, even though we went off the rails and only got back on within the last hour, and I obviously and merrily ripped off every single cliche and story I could think of. Also, the “introduce complications on 1 success” style of play is WONDERFUL. It’s how we got the cyberzombie/Alpha Computer plotline, which was never actually supposed to happen, and also the source of a Gleeful Evil GM moment. When the party found out that there were actually two factions of pirates kind of working together (and that they were led by Clyde and Regina-formerly-Bonnie who had broken up due to a misunderstanding involving Regina’s clone), the party decided to try to reconcile Clyde and Regina. 

They succeeded with one die. While they were congratulating themselves on winning the game through relationship therapy, Clyde and Regina made up and decided to admit that they still loved each other - and they would destroy the treaty ~together~. That was a really fun “oh shit” moment.

I am also a ridiculously relaxed GM, considering that I, er, let one character kill 20 people with one dice roll. But I mean, not the most serious of games.

Also, L&F is really not designed that well for PVP. Which we found out after I infected the hivemind with cyberzombie, OOPS.

So lesson learned?

Don’t fear the improv - even if it ends up being ridiculous and inconsistent. And even in this game, we got some good stuff - there were some bits of lore coming out that I loved: an empire that had fractured into the Consortium and other forces fifty years prior, a garden world turned graveyard planet called Mausoleum, a troubled Hivemind which had absorbed many traumatized soldiers from the war,  and an alien culture that takes original copies very seriously. It was weird and mostly offhand or made to explain game stuff, but also rich and breathing and kind of cool.

Also, WOW you can get a lot done in three hours with minimalist rules and a lazy GM.

Also, er, don’t use the word “rake” when “scratch” will do, because it is VERY EASILY MISHEARD IN A CROWDED CAFE. :/

We’re back to playing Fiasco soon - we’re down one player, but I’m thinking of running something short next week. As far as next plans, I’m thinking of running something a little more crunchy and traditional fantasy right now, so I’m eyeing Dungeon World and similar systems…

* The Vogrons take original copies and treaties Very Seriously. At one point, the party killed the Vogron leader’s son (just…because?), which caused Vogrons to stop trying to help them defend the treaty.