Those Dark Places - Lakicia Okpara, friendly pilot

Another game in the blue-collar scifi genre is Those Dark Places, a game that is also approaching it through simpler mechanics. Similar to Mothership in that regard, I’d say TDP is even more sparse in its approach, and less concerned with horror. So, let us see what kind of character we end up with for this one.

Let’s call her Lakicia Okpara, and I think I will make her a charismatic, somewhat flashy pilot. The kind that thinks she is in some kind of romantic space opera, instead of essentially driving a space truck for far too little money. A tall, slender woman, with a quick smile. Dark skin, green hair, high cheekbones, a nose that is a bit too small, eyes that are just a tiny bit too wide. 

She will get scores from 1 to 4 in four Attributes, and I go with Charisma 4, Agility 3, Strength 1, and Education 2. Whenever we need to roll, it’ll be a D6 plus one of the attributes, trying to beat a target, often 7. And yes, circumstances, tools, crew role, and so on can add to your roll. In a typical crew Lakicia will have a primary roll and a secondary roll - these ships travel very far, and for long times, so crosstraining is the norm. Lakicia is primarily the Helm Officer, and secondarily the Liaison Officer. She also has a Pressure Bonus, a score used when stress becomes a bit much. It equals 3 for Lakicia, as the sum of Strength and Education. Sounds about right, to be honest. Finally, she gets a standard kit as per company policy, no need to note that down. Done!

See? That wasn’t too hard. Very fast and easy, actually. I am wondering why I rarely see this game played, in contrast to Mothership.


Lakicia does have a sheet as well.