It's the start of the last week, and we're back with more Designer Thoughts on one of the pillars of the book: 

I meant to talk more about the Data Heist when I sat down to compose the last Diary. But instead, you got a preview of the Boilerplates. I'm still excited about them. But, I'm also excited about heists.

For the last 11 years, my day job has been in cybersecurity. I'm a technical editor (also now a content manager), but I read a lot of reports, vulnerability descriptions, and research accounts about cybersecurity weaknesses (related: Don't reuse your passwords. A password manager is likely a good investment). I'm not like, an Expert, but I know my way around the cybersecurity sphere.

And they're always saying "write what you know."

You see where I'm going with this? I'm structuring the data heist around cybersecurity attack research. The planning and execution of the attack is currently written to follow the flow of Reconnaissance to Initial Access to Exfiltration that I've been writing about for about a decade (unless I get an editor who tells me that's too boring).

As for the target, I'm bringing back some of the Media-centric bad guys from Station-bound Semitones: Maile-Wildner Multinational Industries. MWMI isn't just in contract disputes with a specific jazz band anymore, they're now playing the part of my Space Disney megacorp mentioned in the last update. They're also the parent company of Wildplay, who sponsor the DreamScape Gamecade, the collection in-game games that players can play. 

Commway Communications has essentially been a payphone company up until they launched the DreamScape, I figured they'd need a little help from someone who knows how to do Media--thus MWMI's partnership was born. 

The Data Heist is around a piece of what should be Public Domain media that MWMI is putting in their "Vault", after buying up and acquiring as many legal and bootleg copies they can get their hands on. They'll tell people that they're working on a Collector's Edition, but the reality is that they're trying to drive up the prices and create demand. 

And the Vade Mecum don't jive with that. Which is where they come in--and why they're hiring your team. 

I still have a ton of editing to do on this, so it's possible a lot will change, but I hope that the cybersecurity framing stays in place, and is a useful and interesting way to structure the Planning and Heist phases of the mission (also, I'll likely crib a flashback mechanic from Forged in the Dark games or something similar, because as much as you want to plan ahead, Heists never go to plan--and I wouldn't expect players to just know how to plan a heist--that's what TTRPGs are for!)

I've been having a kinda crazy couple of weeks, so I apologize for being quieter than I was at the start of this thing. I promise I haven't forgotten about y'all! I've got one more Designer Diary in the queue, and I'm cooking up some upgrades to make this book even better.

In the meantime, however, a podcast to whet your appetite: the latest Ansible Uplink.

In it, Eryk Sawicki from Peregrine Press sat down with Chris Auriau (who you may recognize from fellow OB Month project ⁠Paramour by Josh Domanski & Chris Airiau) to talk through Electric Sheep Shuffle. The first module I wrote for OB (and I think the first one I'd written for any game?)

It is honestly a really neat podcast in general, but this one is particularly of interest to people excited for Vaporwave Wanderlust, and/or people who've picked up ESS in the Add-ons. 

Wake up DreamScapers, two new stretch goals just dropped.

Got some exciting news from our friends over at SoulMuppet HQ. They've got some really rad new goals for the new OB Sourcebook, Outlaws X Corprations, and they're cruising right along to make them happen.

The first is a really gorgeous map of space made by Joshua Clark, with locations and notes on random encounters by Zach Cox. Space, as we know, is big--and this is built to give you some tools when you need them, but room to expand on your own. Check out their updates for more, it's going to be great.

The other is a really exciting team up with artist/game designer Galen Pejeau, known for games like Stoneburner and Inevitable. If you've ever seen one of those car manuals from the '60s to '80s, with detailed schematics and breakdowns of parts to repair, and you're anything like me, you've always kinda wanted that but for a spaceship.

If Outlaws X Corprations hits £75k, we'll get that. I want it. So if you haven't already picked their project up, you should! Otherwise, tell a friend! 

Back with another Designer Diary, this time I want to talk about the development of the new Faction I've promised in the book. I meant to be brief, but this one got a little lengthy... 

As I started designing the Data Heist, it became pretty clear that someone was going to need to actually initiate it. That's RPG design 101, isn't it? You need someone to give the PCs a quest, or else why would they do it?

Because I always do things in a clear and logical order, I started instead with a target: a megacorp. Nobody likes Megacorps (well... actually nevermind). So, what would they have in the DreamScape?

Somewhere along the way to answering that question, I also thought about "the Disney Vault". A concept that creates artificial scarcity by intentionally putting some content out-of-print for a while. (There's probably a production reason that's their excuse, but I remember as a kid hearing people talk about how even second-hand Disney VHS tapes were hard to find and expensive).

(Also, if you don't know what a VHS is, ask a Millennial and watch them crumble to dust)

I've been listening to an audio drama podcast called The Strange Case of the Starship Iris. In it, the crew of the Rumor (the ship where most of the show takes place) are smugglers who specialize in contraband media. The show itself is quite good! It is also one of the most effective examples I've encountered of the "Podcast as a piece of in-universe media" that I've listened to.

If you're seeing where this is going, let me introduce my new faction: The Boilerplate Syndicate. I've been pitching them as "What if Napster was a spaceship that landed in your neighborhood a few times a year and handed out banned books, bootleg DVDs, and anarchist zines until the Government chased them away?"

Yep, it's the Scholastic Book Fair, but make it criminal.

That said, I also didn't want them to be just criminals. Banning media is generally a bad thing, but I couldn't quite picture Mobsters illegally printing copies of 1984. There's no real profit in it. So what if their motive wasn't profit, but faith?

I wanted to be really, really careful not to just reinvent a religion we already have. I've already written some games to work out my religious trauma, and Catholicism in Space is pretty well-trod ground (I've also never been Catholic).

I also think that human thought and the entire literary canon is pretty spectacular. The things we've done with words and images as a species is pretty awe-inspiring. Humanity has created books, films, speeches, poetry, plays, the "Chimera Ant" arc of Hunter x Hunter, paintings and sculpture.

What if that's what they believe in? What if the idea that human thought is potent and powerful and should be free is a core tenet of their faith? It's the future, it's science fiction. Why not?

It also occurred to me that this group probably wouldn't think of themselves as criminals. They're just exercising their faith, they're just trying to keep people educated and keep ideas free. They probably wouldn't call themselves a "syndicate". They'd probably have another name. One WordHippo.com search for "words related to books later" and I landed on the Latin phrase Vade Mecum, which is an old term for a how-to guide, which literally translates to "go with me".

They call themselves the Vade, but they're known to hostile governments as The Boilerplate Syndicate.

I'm genuinely excited about these guys. I think the concept has legs--so much so I've already started jotting ideas down for another module with them as the focus (perhaps for next OB month...?) But for now, they'll be a little mysterious.

Alright, we are cruising past 3x funded, which is bonkers. I did set out with an unambitious goal, but are y'all sure? (To be clear, this is a joke). 

I haven't set any Stretch Goals per se, but I have been trying to think of things I'd do if I had budget for them--and suddenly I've got some budget. I'm currently investigating three options:

Nothing concrete yet, but I'll keep you all posted. I'd love to do all three, and honestly, I think we're in a good place to do them all.