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Vox Patrum: A Mothership RPG Pamphlet Adventure's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| LAYOUT — How well does the module get across information? | #28 | 3.480 | 3.650 |
| ART — How good is the art/graphic design? | #31 | 3.480 | 3.650 |
| THEME — How well is the jam theme used? | #31 | 3.289 | 3.450 |
| GAME DESIGN — How good is the game balance or concepts there in? | #33 | 3.146 | 3.300 |
| Overall | #37 | 3.201 | 3.357 |
| FAVORABILITY — how much do you personally like the submission? | #38 | 2.956 | 3.100 |
| UTILITY — Does complexity inspire game prep? Or Is it very "Pick-up-n-Play"? | #39 | 3.003 | 3.150 |
| WRITING — How does this read? does it emanate with horror, humor, drama...? | #43 | 3.051 | 3.200 |
Ranked from 20 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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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.
As much as I personally dislike the usage of churches and religion that are analogs of Abrahamic religion (mostly because I consider them to be low-hanging fruit), this isn't terrible. Needs some more polish around the layout and some minor editing tweaks (like calling it 3 Cathedral instead of 3: Cathedral) but the politics are actually pretty neat, and this is a clean and uncluttered layout with a cohesive art direction.
Thanks so much for the feedback!!
This one is SO rad, I love the politicking– it feels like an exceedingly well crafted puzzle in an immersive sim. The graphic design reminds me of tarot decks and old catholic stuff– I adore the color palette.
I also love the take on the theme– and I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff.
I’m a little lost on how to actually engage with the council, however– I can see cases for getting them to vote for Belle, and conversely, how to social engineer them into voting against them, but I can see feeling a little lost on what to do/where to go/etc.
I think with some prep time, what you already have is really fantastic foundation for a mini-campaign.
I also really, really love the conversion mechanic.
Overall, the style is tangible, the voice is strong, the writing inspires, and the layout is super functional.
I like this take on the theme, and the willingness to do a more social/political module.
Thanks so much for the feedback!! I very much want to tweak a few things after the jam is over, and the feedback is a great motivation. A big piece of that is tightening up how to interact with the council; thanks!!
this is a good layout and I'd love to see it refined further. the background art of the spread looks epic, and the portraits are great. a serif font is a strong choice, you might also find a good blackletter font to use for some of the headers to give a little more pop. love the NPCs, really cool encounters!
Great note on a. a blackletter font and b. the headers. Already made that change, and plan on releasing a version of it post-jam!! Thanks so much for helping me learn; this is my first time publishing anything and its an encouragement.
Social encounters are the best ones for rpgs in general, I don't get why we default to combat so often. Yours I found intriguing. I think the characters could use a doesn't want entry for how to enrage them.
Your layout is beautiful, the portraits could however use some extra love. Perhaps something as simple as just giving them a round background would make them feel more professional. Why are some headers just lowercase, some just uppercase, and some first letter uppercase and the rest lowercase? I would have preferred a consistent casing pattern.
Appreciate the feedback!! Circle background was a game changer; the post-jam layout will be including that note for sure. Also appreciate the heading feedback. Thanks!!
Really fantastic! I'm not sure if this is my #1 or #2, to be honest, but either way, I think it deserves a spot in the winner's circle.
Some quibbles:
- I think there are a few places where, mechanically, this could be stronger. Some of the damage figures given don't gel with the equipment stats in the PSG; for example, Liam's Wrench is 2d10 vs 1d5 for Assorted Tools. Likewise, the health per wounds in the stats are a bit high.
- I thought the theme could have been a little stronger.
Why I think this really works:
- It's very different than most Mothership modules. Given the amounts of money involved, this seems like a great way to allow a crew on the raggedy edge to reset and replenish.
- The art is really fantastic. Even on the relatively art-free first spread, you use a few strong colours and some very light illustration to generate a huge amount of visual interest. The choice to make it feel like a cult pamphlet is really great, just really well considered and executed. The second spread is even better. I love the way you've centred the artifact in the red and black. The sketch drawings of the characters have a ton of personality. It's real 'worth-a-thousand-words' stuff.
- The social aspects seem well considered. I like how you've used PC morality (not wanting to indulge Z's violence) to goad them towards danger (Harriet and her poisons).
- Selfish cultists as the monsters and aliens as a distant hypothetical is great.
- Conversion relic is awesome. It could easily be detached for fun, modular use in a home campaign.
I think you should expand this one. I'd love to see more of the cult and the Light Fathers.
Thanks so much for the encouragement!! I also knew I needed to refine the mechanics, but frankly just didn't have time to get it done lol I also knew it was pretty different from a lot of MoSH modules, and honestly this week have been afraid those differences turned people off from it. Hearing that people enjoyed it means the world!!
It's also one part of a campaign I'm in the midst of running with 4-5 adventure sites in the same system, and honestly your comment has inspired me to consider expanding this into a zine, then writing up the other three parts of the campaign as their own zines, and capping it off with something bigger about the Light Father's eventual return.
We shall see!!
This one has excellent vibes, lots of really good and distinctive design choices here that I enjoyed! It also gets right into things from the cover page on, which was a bit disorienting but works great for moving the action along in a one-shot. The social dynamics of the different church heads are fun, the station itself is simple but evocative, and I like the focus on social leverage vs. violence for a MoSh scenario.
My critiques: the "2 in 6"/"2 in 10" verbiage was disorienting in a Mothership context, I'd much prefer regular percent chances for clarity. I also see brackets around the location numbers in a couple places, but having that across the board would help things read a bit smoother. Finally, I do feel like a number of the NPCs "wants" boil down to promising someone something that doesn't really impact the PCs to promise. A lot of them could just as well be secured by Bellerophon directly - more stuff that requires active participation like engineering an "accident" for Harriet, or Z's sunlight exposure, would help mix things up IMO!
Ultimately though, very strong outing with a lot of excellent ideas and thematic connections, really had a good time reading and got my gears turning in a fun way!
Thanks so much! I have gone through and changed everything to percentage as is standard, as well as standardized the brackets around location numbers. I'm also cutting the "get bellerephon to promise x" stuff in favor of other interesting encounters - currently one involves getting high and letting Harriet wander around in your traumatic memories lol. Thanks so much for the feedback; it's a big encouragment for a new creator!!
Looking forward to giving it a read!!
I like the brochure look and the fact that you chose a serif font, which is very unusual in this game it seems. This looks great for a party that likes to focus on roleplay and any time a creator calls out NPC's motivations and needs, I really appreciate it as a GM.
I think the word you want is "hangars," fyi.
Great job!
Correct it is hangars!! Thanks so much!!
I love how social this ultimately is as presented, the quite effective page 1 in terms of appearing genuinely like a religious pamphlet and so setting a very strong vibe right away, and strong voice throughout. Less is more in terms of writing situations like these - preferring simple instructions that can easily balloon into huge scenes with the right group.
I think that a recognizable connection to Ancient Myth of a kind is enough, sometimes the implication being simply "ancient aliens" or "cults and religion" is serviceable shorthand. Here the function of a central myth itself is not necessarily as front and center as one might think but ultimately I don't think that detracts from the finished work.
Thanks so much for the feedback!!