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Sol incarnate's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| GAME DESIGN — How good is the game balance or concepts there in? | #3 | 3.870 | 3.870 |
| FAVORABILITY — how much do you personally like the submission? | #5 | 3.913 | 3.913 |
| Overall | #10 | 3.789 | 3.789 |
| LAYOUT — How well does the module get across information? | #11 | 3.957 | 3.957 |
| WRITING — How does this read? does it emanate with horror, humor, drama...? | #12 | 3.826 | 3.826 |
| ART — How good is the art/graphic design? | #16 | 4.087 | 4.087 |
| UTILITY — Does complexity inspire game prep? Or Is it very "Pick-up-n-Play"? | #26 | 3.478 | 3.478 |
| THEME — How well is the jam theme used? | #28 | 3.391 | 3.391 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Having reviewed all but ten entries, I only have time to rate the final ten but not provide a written review. If you want detailed feedback like I've given others, hit me up on Discord (xopods) and I'll give you some after the ratings close.
Yeah, this slaps. Nothing negative to say.
I love the design on this module – the high-contract, shadowed art aligns really well with the content and looks great. Conceptually, this is a really delightful premise.
Overall, I like this quite a bit. The art and contrasts are great and the layout is pretty strong. The biggest thing for me is getting the timing of events in the module clear. If you can tighten that up, I think it would really improve the whole adventure!
Lovely core idea for the setting, with a solid set of rooms at the location to explore.
The game design approach is effective, sticking to what works in the existing mosh modules, and adding a new dimension with the lightsource aspect.
I think it might be good if the photoreceptor grafts gave some benefit, as well as incurred new problems for the players. That way it could be a worthwhile trade and an interesting story point for an ongoing character? Something like having the grafts give advantage in well-lit combat etc etc.
Overall I like the stark b+w approach as it looks neat and is easily readable, but I would really appreciate more visual material for the walking plant creatures. Players are going to be very interested in them, and a picture to show might really set the mood.
Thanks for the feedback.
And that's actually a really good idea with the benefit for the photoreceptor grafts. I'm thinking benefits on rest saves in well lit rooms.
And also a good point with the graphics for the Light Eaters. If we expand on the module to a zine, then we'll definitely do it.
Really enjoyed this, and have a strong idea on how to play it! Tightening up exactly what's happening with "the pilgrim's transcendence" is about all I had question-wise on how to run it.
Super small thing, but I love how the gradient bars are always alternating between dark and light, so it never bothers you how long they are or the speed they go from black to white - genius!
One design/layout point - not quite sure how the text above the title on the front page fits in, and it's likely that's the very first thing people read, italicizing (or something, not sure what?) it, making it smaller or turning it into an in-universe quote could de-emphasize it a bit.
This was excellent! I liked the art and your layout and design were great. It really feels like you've read a lot of modules and know how to convey information.
I only had a couple small issues with the content where I was confused, but I think that was mostly on me. It took me a moment to realize that "mainline solarian mole" meant that he was a spy from the other branch of the religion and was caught somehow.
I also wasn't quite sure why the pilgrims needed to be ground up. I get that the cycle isn't perfect and they burn more than they produce. Are resources so tight that they can only survive here by producing more energy/calories than they take in? Maybe I missed something.
While reading this, I just kept coming back to how well-executed the information presentation was. I think you're using the OSE house style, or a variant of it?
Thank you Deadnought! I take usability (how well concepts come across as well as general readability, pick-up and play) seriously. We play-tested the game twice and incorporated general feedback as well. I am happy it worked out even though I packed it with concepts. I will also look to make your feedback more clear in the pamphlet after the jam.
Regarding your question about the pilgrims, then it is also something that unfortunately got cut. Damn tiny pamphlet word count! But the idea is that the bloodletting and spinal tap is quite invasive and would lead to bodily decay regardless. The reason why the priest do it is because of their religious beliefs being exacerbated by the fungal growth in their body from genetically modifying themselves with the bioluminescent fungus from the planet. The fungus craves decaying material to "feed on" (decompose) and uses the priests as a kind of religious Angler fish light to lure in devoted but gullible pilgrims.
Regarding your question of OSE, then Mothership is actually my (almost) first experience in playing role-playing games. It's at least what got me hooked. And I do lean more towards the narrative end of the role-playing spectrum, which may be why I favored some more "theatrical" parts in the module, like the rite of passage. When running it, it was fun to ask the players what their sun-name was and have them whisper it in my ear, then putting a gene-gun to their foreheads. "MY CHILD. DO YOU ACCEPT TO LET THE LIGHT SHINE UPON YOU AND THROUGH YOU?!"... fear save.
Actually thinking about your OSE house rules question. Maybe it's something I don't know about Mothership. Is it a certain style that one can adopt in the way it is played? Personally I do Player Facing Rolls.
Old-school essentials is a system that uses a specific style for presenting information for their modules. They use bolded words and then explanations in parentheses for example. I just noticed that and was curious.
Oh, that is all great! Maybe expand it to a zine after the jam so you can include it.
And to add to the layout being clear, the actual visual layoutting and feedback on text was given by my collaborator tim4242. He also did the visuals which I am grateful for.
I think I saw this was your first time writing a mothership module? You can’t tell. This is a very solid entry. Great care and attention on layout and design, you used very effective artwork that conveyed the themes without distracting. There are a number of concepts delivered all at once, as someone else pointed out, but I think that’s largely fine. There isn’t so much going on here that a warden couldn’t keep it sorted with a dash of book keeping. It feels very active, like this is happening on a clock and I can see where the players are start freaking out, stacking stress, and searching for the exits. The only thing I don’t really feel was super strong here was the Ancient Mythology theme. I guess the Solarian church and the remnants of the 500 year old civilization were the lead in on that? Didn’t feel super ancient, but I got the mythology from it. Either way, great job, solid entry.
Yes. My co-designer did mention that this is what comes through the least. The module is already so packed that this is one of the things that is not fleshed out and left a bit between the lines.
Let me explain the ancient myth inspiration:
Certain Nahua cultures and Aztec peoples had the creation myth of the five suns. They believe that the world has gone through five distinct cycles of creation and destruction. This is also what I think the mainline solarians believe as they are called The Church of the Fifth Sun. The Sol Incarnate (this Solarian Schism) on the other hand is the Church of the Sixth Sun believing that the previous world has ended and this is the new world. A world which will also end either through destruction (sunslayer) or through the natural course of the binary sun where one sun is consuming the other, and out of this they will be born anew.
That is what the cryptic Solarian prayer in the module is about:
When the Unconquered Sun is consumed by its twin, and the sky forgets its name, the faithful shall be the only light. They shall carry the sun in their flesh. And when the consummation ends, they alone shall remain — and from them the world shall be seeded anew.
The art and layout are fantastic. Phenomenal use of the black and white in service of the theme of the module. The logo is great as well.
In terms of writing, The Rite of Passage throws a lot of new concepts and jargon at us in a short space. There were several sentences that I had to pause and reread, the search back through the previous text to sort out what is happening.
I feel like there are so many great ideas, but they are lost a bit in the lack of clarity by not having enough space to get fleshed out more and this impacts the "utility". For example, the "Sol-mates" is very clever and add flavor, but I spent time trying to determine what the importance was Sol-mate vs Enlightened and I don't think it impacts the game play. All the priests could just be sol-mates or Enlighted and it would be fine, unless the players are expected to rescue their specific sol-mate during the long night. It would probably be best to stick with just one term for simplicities sake. I can identify more examples if you would like, but I don't want to belabor the point.
That said, I love the concept, the monsters, the church and priests, all of it really. I think to take it to the next level, you'd have to make some tough choices on cutting down material to simplify and make it more accessible or expand beyond the trifold format to flesh it out more.
Yes. I did jam pack this module. I was just so inspired. There's a virtue in being concise and cutting the fat. As the writer I believe all of it is necessary to be there, but that's not always true!
Regarding the Sol-mates, though, I would be hard pressed to remove that as it underlines a big motif in the game about codependency being an unhealthy relationship. The pilgrims physically and emotionally yearn for their sol-mates while the sol-mates feed of off their literal life essence. That's why you are "assigned" a sol-mate and mechanically get the "bonded" condition where you have do a sanity save to resist them calling out for help during the Long Night.
The enlightened is what this religion calls their priests and is the false promise for the pilgrims' transcendence that ultimately brings them to their demise. So both terms are needed in this case.
But I do take it seriously that the module can be dense and hard to quickly pick up, read, and play. I will look into ways to cut some fat after the Jam!