MOTHERSHIP | FREE FRIDAY | FORTUNE'S FOOL: Stop, Drop, and Roll

Creating your character

🧑‍🚀 CHARACTER CREATION No character homework required. At the beginning of each session, we’ll create characters together using the Mothership Companion App. It makes character creation fast, easy, and just unpredictable enough to feel right for Mothership. 📱 USE THE APP - The Mothership Companion App handles the numbers, rolls, skills, equipment, and other mechanical details. 🎒 STARTING EQUIPMENT - Mission-specific equipment will be provided at the beginning of the session. There's no need to purchase equipment or prepare a loadout in advance. 🎲 EMBRACE THE RANDOMNESS - Some parts of your character will be randomly generated. Space is cruel. Human Resources is worse. 🛠️ MAKE YOUR CHOICES - You’ll still make meaningful decisions along the way, shaping who your character is and what they bring to the crew. 🚀 NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED - I’ll walk everyone through the process step by step, so you don’t need to know the rules or understand the character sheet beforehand. 👽 BUILD THEM. LOVE THEM. TRY TO KEEP THEM ALIVE. - By the time we’re ready to launch, you’ll have a complete character who is uniquely yours. Character creation is part of the session, part of the fun, and usually our first opportunity to discover exactly what kind of poor soul just signed aboard the Fortune’s Fool.

Preparing for the session

🚀 PLAYER PREPARATION Getting ready is easy. You only need a few things before we launch. 🎧 DISCORD - We’ll use Discord for voice chat. You’ll receive an invitation to the server when your request to join the game is approved. 🛰️ ROLL20 - You’ll need a Roll20 account, but the free account is all you need. I’ll provide the game invitation shortly before we begin. 📱 MOTHERSHIP COMPANION APP - Please have the free Mothership Companion App installed and ready to use on your preferred device. We’ll use it to create and manage your character during the session. 🎙️ MICROPHONE REQUIRED - We play by voice, so you’ll need a working microphone and a setup where you can communicate clearly with the group. 📹 NO CAMERA NEEDED - We do not use video. Come as you are. Space is dark enough already. 👽 THAT’S IT - No character preparation, rules study, or homework is required. Bring the tools above, show up ready to play, and I’ll guide you through everything else. Then we’ll find out what kind of person just signed aboard the Fortune’s Fool - and how long they manage to remain employed.

What Ukulele Mike brings to the table

🛰️ WHAT I PROVIDE I’ll bring everything we need to get you into the game quickly and keep the focus on playing. 🗺️ ROLL20 GAME SPACE - Maps, visual references, handouts, tokens, and other materials needed for the session. 📚 RULES GUIDANCE - You do not need to know Mothership before you arrive. I’ll explain the rules as they become relevant and help you navigate the system throughout play. 📄 PLAYER HANDOUTS - Helpful references, including How to Play Mothership and How to Be a Great Player guides. 🎲 CHARACTER CREATION SUPPORT - We’ll create characters together using the Mothership Companion App, and I’ll walk everyone through the process. 🎧 DISCORD VOICE SERVER - A dedicated place for voice chat and game communication. 👽 A COMPLETE SCI-FI HORROR ADVENTURE - Each session of Fortune’s Fool gives the crew a new situation to investigate, survive, escape, or perhaps make dramatically worse. ☠️ FAIR, PLAYER-FOCUSED PLAY - Mothership can be dangerous and characters can die, but I’m always rooting for the players. Your decisions matter, creative ideas are encouraged, and the goal is to discover what happens together. 🚀 AN EXPERIENCED GM - I bring decades of Game Mastering experience and a fiction-first style focused on player agency, atmosphere, collaborative storytelling, and keeping the game moving. You bring the crew. I’ll provide the terrible decisions waiting for them in space.

How Ukulele Mike creates a safe table

🚨 SAFETY Mothership is a horror game. Things may get tense, disturbing, grotesque, frightening, or bleak - but everyone at the table should still feel safe playing. 🛑 LINES & VEILS - At the beginning of each session, we’ll establish any subjects that should remain completely out of the game (Lines) or stay off-screen and undescribed (Veils). Because this is an anthology with changing players, these boundaries are set for the people at that particular table. They can also be added or adjusted at any time during play. ❌ X-CARD - If something in the game becomes uncomfortable, use the X-Card and we’ll immediately change, skip, or remove it. No explanation is required. 🚪 OPEN DOOR - You are always free to step away from the table or leave the session if you need to. You do not need permission, and you do not owe the group an explanation. ⏸️ BREAKS - We’ll take breaks during the session, and anyone can request an additional break whenever one is needed. ⭐ STARS & WISHES - At the end of the session, we’ll take a few minutes to talk about what we especially enjoyed and what we’d like to see more of in future adventures. Since Fortune’s Fool is an anthology, your feedback can help shape where the ship goes next. 👽 HORROR WITHOUT GOTCHAS - The goal is tension, suspense, and memorable horror - not making players uncomfortable for its own sake. We can go to some very dark places in the fiction while still taking care of the real people sitting around the table. Space may be hostile. The table doesn’t have to be.