Goto [ Index ]

In Short

Diaspora offers players a hard science fiction roleplaying experience that strives to support traders, mercenaries, privateers, and those other adventurers willing to navigate a spaceship through the dangers of myriad star systems. With a grounding in FATE strongly supported by authors who appreciate the role of physics in hard science fiction, Diaspora does an excellent job of realizing the potential inherent in the FATE system while making worthwhile contributions that show the authors can do more than merely replicate the system, they can improve upon it.

The Good: The setting generation system is simply fantastic, and it's so much fun in play my group has adopted it for other FATE games. Many realistic implications of space travel are addressed and instead of limiting the game they enhance it with good mechanical support. The concept of lots of destructive Singularities resulting in an archaeologically rich setting is fresh and fun. FATE remains a bundle of fun.

The Bad: I occasionally felt like the authors did not have their audience in mind, as some concepts could use more fleshing out. I'd love to see a 2nd edition that goes into greater depth discussing hard sci-fi concepts, physics considerations, and how to make all of that fun at the gaming table. More attention to technological development of societies and its implications would have been helpful, especially given the importance of societal tech level in this game.

The Physical Thing

Diaspora showcases good production values for its $34.95 price tag. The minimal black and white art does well to convey a utilitarian aspect to the 256 page book. The editing isn't perfect, but the occasional errors don't impact readability. The index was useful in play, and the sturdy hardcover format held up well at the table.

Under the Cover

Diaspora takes the FATE 3 system introduced in Spirit of the Century and greatly expands upon it in a variety of ways. First, this game adds new Skills and revamps the Stunt system in order to reflect the hard sci-fi setting while also striving for a little less mechanical complexity. Second, new sub-systems have been included for handling wealth, starship combat, and platoon combat. Of final note, Diaspora includes an excellent setting generation system that's so fun I've sat around my home building star systems at length. Let's start off with a look at the core system, FATE, for those readers unfamiliar with this system.

Characters are primarily represented by three elements – Aspects, Skills, and Stunts. Each character has ten Aspects determined in character creation, statements about the character that can be positive or negative in character. Examples from my game include Life Cycle Crisis, Fix It? I'll Make It Better, Former Spy?, Dark Past, and Warrant Jumper. These are important in play because players have a pool of points called FATE points. These points, when used with an Aspect, can add a +2 bonus to a roll (a roll being 4 FUDGE dice, resulting in -4 to +4 with a strong bell curve) and/or allow a reroll. Without an Aspect they offer a smaller bonus and may also be used to scene edit, such as a player spending a point to create an NPC their character once knew who now works at the local space station. Not only can Aspects be used for this bonus, but negative Aspects reward the player with an additional FATE point whenever they hinder a character. Because of this it's important for characters to have a mix of positive and negative Aspects, as both parts of a character drive play forward.

Skills represent a character's prowess in a given area and are broadly construed. Diaspora contains many Skills very appropriate to hard sci-fi gaming, such as EVA and Zero G. I am a little surprised by the presence of a Navigation Skill, as while it makes perfect sense for a character's ability to relate spatial objects to be taken into account the general application of this Skill seems like something that a computer could better handle. The same is true, at least in part, of some of the other starship-oriented Skills. Those who want moderately advanced computer systems in their games may need to consider a different approach.

Stunts are greatly simplified from their presentation in Spirit of the Century and Starblazer Adventures, two other excellent FATE-based games. Here a Stunt will allow one Skill to function as another, allow a character a unique and unusual piece of equipment, or allow a character to perform an action they otherwise could not perform. These simple guidelines eliminate the need for hundreds of pages dedicated to specific Stunts, each of which is normally attached to a specific Skill, though it does result in some gray area as to what makes for an appropriate Stunt.

Before we walk through an example of character creation, let's take a look an amazing new addition to the FATE 3.0 system. Diaspora's concept is that a group of star systems are connected by wormholes called Slipstreams and that through the use of a Slipstream Drive a starship can jump between these systems. Systems, then, are clustered together in a group of around 6 to 12 or so depending on the group's preference. Each system is then rolled up randomly and the group gets to work together to determine exactly what the numbers mean. A throw of the FUDGE dice is required for Tech Level, Environment, and Resources, with a result from -4 to +4 reflecting how exceptional the system is and in what way. A high result for Tech Level reflects a very advanced society while a low result for Environment reflects a lack of garden worlds. Another throw of the dice is used to determine how the systems all connected to one another. Let's look at an example!

Example: My group tosses the dice for 6 different star systems. Our first system is quite unusual, with 2 Tech, -3 Environment, and -3 Resources From there we also get 3/0/3, 0/-1/0, 1/0/0, 2/1/1, and -2/0/-1. It is immediately obvious to us that the 3/0/3 system likely dominates the cluster as it has incredibly advanced technology and the resources to make it work. The international politics student in me, however, notes that we do have two TL 2 systems and that they may well be engaging in balancing behavior against the TL 3 system. While neither one is remotely capable of stopping the more advanced society on its own, together they work to limit its mighty reach and maintain their own sovereignty. The other worlds are simply going to be caught up in the mix. With a little bit of extra thinking we end up with these worlds: Belters – T2/E-3/R-3. This system was long ago turned to rubble, and it is largely believed that a previous civilization converted much of the mass to something else and left the system entirely. The current civilization exists in an unusually large asteroid belt and depends heavily on imports to survive. We assigned the Aspects “Adrift in a Sea of Ruin” “Paranoid but Determined” and “We Live as One, We Die as One” to the Belters. Xyph – T3/E0/R3. This system is home to the most powerful civilization in the cluster. We decided not to explain why they have Resources 3, leaving it as a great mystery that this civilization works to protect. With their technology they've taken the role as a galactic police state, imposing their will on other civilizations and harrying starships that do not conform to their laws. They have been assigned the Aspects “Xyphrentic Empire” “We Have No Need of Lesser Genomes” and “All Shall Be Orderly.” Phintar – T0/E-1/R0. Clearly an unusual system, Phintar doesn't have a lot going on for it. We declare that the poor Environment is due to a weak ozone layer that allows far more radiation through than is comfortable for the humans dwelling here. The populace long ago moved under ground, and over the centuries has embraced technology to alter themselves to better survive in the harsh caverns they now dwell in. Phintar has the Aspects “Photodeprivus Humanus” “Authoritarian Regime” and “Bathed in Radiation.” Grindwald – T1/E0/R0. As will be revealed below, Grindwald is difficult to get to and this isolation has allowed it to prosper in peace. Home to a religious movement encouraging the borganization of the populace in order to create God, this civilization is showcasing the beginnings of a global government. The Aspects “Aristocratic Democracy” “Heavily Networked” and “The Sign of Krish” were assigned to Grindwald. Thestia – T2/E1/R1. The second most powerful civilization, Thestia has a lot going for it. A rich garden world and a second planet completely colonized, this civilization is a power in terms of raw population let alone its technological sophistication. The head of a cold war effort that has been supplying the Belters with resources to combat the Xyph, Thestia believes that in the long term they must either counter balance the Xyphrentic Empire or learn to speak Xyph now to greet their conquerors when they arrive. The Aspects “The Cold War Grows” “In Need of Allies” and “Settled System” were applied to Thestia. Algia – T-2/E0/R-1. This metal poor world sports a human civilization at a development of around the middle ages, with many tribal bands clustered around vying Sorcerer-Kings who use high technology exports to maintain harsh control of the population. Aspects include “Preserving Monks” “Isolated” and “Sorcerer-Kings” With all of these worlds established all that remains is to determine how they are interconnected with one another. For each world we roll Fudge dice. On a negative result it connects to the next world. On a zero it connects to the next two. On a positive result three connections are generated. For this game our rolling was quite off, resulting in the following connections: X>P, X>B, B>P, P>T, P>G, T>A This is important because it resulted in Phintar being an incredibly high traffic star system. We quickly concluded that the Xyph would have no choice but to keep a sizable force within the system, easily done since Phintar can do little to oppose them. Of course, this means that the two rival powers also have to counter this. We determined that they did not maintain a fleet, but that their spy network was heavily active on Phintar and in the system's space stations. My group was very pleased with the many adventure opportunities before us.

With an interesting and dynamic setting created, allow me to further clarify character creation by walking through the creation of a character used in our game. Note that Diaspora asks players to generate Aspects by Phase, thereby having some connection to growing up, starting out, etc. In my example the Aspects were simply chosen as appropriate.

Example: Aldous Severn is a Belt native who has given up his duties as a Reclamation Technician. His Aspects include: I Make My Friends Cognitive Repair Implants I Died Once... Fix it? I'll make it better! Life Cycle Crisis In the Belt we did more with less Born and raised in low gravity Reclamation Technician Grav Harness Nervous This batch of Aspects already tells a story about his past while aiding him at excelling at those specific areas where he has a lot of experience. Nervous and Life Cycle Crisis are particularly likely to be Compelled by the GM to provide Aldous' player with extra FATE chips, but most Aspects have both a positive and negative side. Aldous' Skills include: Repair 5 EVA 4 Engineering 4 MicroG 3 Slug Thrower 3 Demolitions 3 Agility 2 Resolve 2 Stamina 2 Alertness 2 Assets 1 Medical 1 Brawl 1 Communications 1 Energy Weapons 1 Aldous' is an exceptional mechanic and quite skilled at warfare when he needs to be. He is almost completely lacking in social Skills due to long periods of time spent with little human contact in the past. Aldous also has three Stunts to help provide him with an edge. These include: High-Gravity Harness - +1 bonus to actions on worlds with 1G or greater that involve physical exertion. Gadget x2 – A pair of high tech devices that can be created each session for use in that session. Aldous also has three Stress tracks which will be used to mark injury in physical combat, social conflict, or when making a particularly large purchase. Health: 4 Composure: 4 Wealth: 4

With all of that character creation out of the way let's talk about conflict resolution again. The two primary conflicts in Diaspora are physical and mental conflicts. In either type a character is using a relevant Skill + an equipment bonus (e.g. a gun) + a bonus from a tagged Aspect if it was used. The example character may want to shoot someone, for instance. The roll is Slug Thrower (3)+ Equipment bonus (the gun, let's say +2) base. The character also spends a FATE point and tags a relevant Aspect for an additional +2. The FATE dice, each having two +s, two -s, and two blanks, turn up -_+- for a total -1. This provides the character with a total of +6. The opponent rolls poorly with a total modifier of +2. The attacker has a four point difference in this example. The opponent may either take all of that damage to the Health track, suffer a Consequence, or both. When a character takes damage they may take a Consequence to absorb some amount of that damage, a Consequence being a negative Aspect that attaches to the character and lasts either until the end of the battle or for months depending on the severity of the Aspect. A Mild Consequence reduces damage by 1, Moderate by 2, and Severe by 4. A character may have one of each Consequences at a time. If they suffer more damage than they can deal with through the Stress Track or Consequences then they are Taken Out. This could reflect death, unconsciousness, or losing a goal depending on how the participants have set up the scene.

Conflicts can have a lot more going on, to say the least. Characters may engage in a Maneuver to place a negative Aspect on an opponent or a scene, allowing for a free tag on that Aspect. This both simulates concepts like aiming but also encourages descriptive actions that indirectly harm adversaries. In play this results in highly engaging combat where all the participants are looking for any imaginative way to gain an advantage, and where frequent tagging of Aspects reinforces the portions of a character that are most important or interesting.

Several sub-systems are included for resolving conflict. Personal combat and social conflicts are resolved largely as mentioned above, though there are a few more bells and whistles to play with. Starship combat has an entirely different sub-system. Starships are composed of Skills much like characters, though they tend to have Skills like Beam and Electronic Weapons instead. Three Stress tracks exist for starships, including Frame, Data, and Heat. Each one of these can be attacked by an enemy, and some starships will specialize in targeting a specific track. Heat, in particular, can be a problem for any ship as quick burns and other maneuvers can generate more heat than the ship can easily deal with.

Character Skills are also important in starship combat, chief among those being Navigation. Navigation is tested to plot a shorter journey, but in combat to determine how far away the combatants begin. A good navigator will enable the combat to begin at maximum range, placing all combatants on a chart that reflects distance from one another, and enabling the ship to more easily escape if need be. Gunnery, starship piloting, and other Skills are also important to starship combat but Navigation struck my group as being the key Skill in a setting where a government actively wanted to board ships and investigate for contraband.

Starship combat begins with a detection roll on the part of the Navigator, but then moves to a 1. positioning roll 2. electronic warfare attack 3. beam weapon attack 4. torpedoes and 5. damage control. This allowed for a surprising variety of tactics in play, and when combined with the fact that each starship feels unique and has Aspects that will benefit it in one way or another we end up with another descriptive play experience. My only gripe with starship combat is that it does not take any of the more modern sci-fi concepts into consideration, a little surprising for a hard sci-fi game. What about AI operated drones that don't have to worry about a squishy flesh form when they engage in warfare? What about computer targeting systems? Why is a human navigator superior to a computer system? Should higher tech levels not impact space warfare in a more substantial way than starships with better engines and weapons?

Ultimately, though, the game is really striving for a sci-fi feel more like Traveller and as such seeks to keep as much as possible based around the actions of the PCs. In this I have nothing but respect for Diaspora, as while I'd love to explore some of the issues mentioned above at the gaming table I am happy to have a system that keeps the characters in the thick of the action throughout. Diaspora offers a variety of pregenerated starships by tech level and it's a simple matter for a group to design their own.

Social combat is less flashy than starships going at it in orbit, but certainly it has the potential to be even more dramatic. Diaspora excels at demonstrating interesting ways to hold social conflicts, whether it's a romance or a long term political agenda that will impact entire star systems. The systems introduced are simple in execution, but the way the authors demonstrate how they are to be used give them enough teeth to be well worth structuring a campaign around.

The final sub-system introduced I've yet to have any experience with, that being platoon combat. I had a little trouble working with this sub-system in part because the description is a little confusing. With a few more reads, however, I appreciate the flow of what the authors are striving for. For a militaristic campaign making active use of military deployments to interesting terrain I think it's a worthwhile system and I'd certainly implement it in an appropriate campaign. Plenty of discussion is provided to support this system in play.

My Take

Diaspora works to support hard sci-fi play at every turn. A robust character creation system allows for player creativity from the very start, and the Skill system has been revamped for a hard sci-fi feel. The combat, social conflict, space combat, and platoon combat systems are well done and fun in play. While there are a few flaws here, most notably in that more discussion of the genres the game wishes to support would have been helpful, in play Diaspora does everything I wanted it to do and more. I'll be using the star system creation rules for a long time to come, and simply making a setting and characters is enormous amounts of fun.