You’re a crew of monkeys. You’re all miserable, for various reasons. But you’ve somehow ended up on a spaceship, and nobody else seems to be controlling it. So it’s yours now, right? You have a spaceship; the entire galaxy is open to you!
Too bad someone wants to stop you. Someone who probably knows a lot more about space than you do, and will do terrible things to keep you from reaching your destination. Why? Who knows? You’re just monkeys; you didn’t ask for any of this. But tell that to the unfeeling void of space.
You may want to learn to use that laser cannon.
As a group, decide how you got into this predicament. Pick a backstory from the list or create your own.
As a group, pick two features your ship has, and one thing that’s wrong with it.
You’re not restricted to the examples; feel free to create your own.
The higher the number, the better you are at MISERY (doing hard, boring things.) The lower the number, the better you are at being a MONKEY (acting on instinct, having fun.)
There’s no list to choose from. Just make something up. Each player should pick something different.
Each player should pick something different.
Something silly, something sad, or something that could be either.
Pick a general category and fill in the details as you think of them:
When you do something risky, roll 1d6. Roll an extra die if something about your character would help, and another if this is the thing you like.
0 If none of your dice succeed, you make the situation worse. The GM will tell you how.
1 If one die succeeds, you do it, but at a cost. The GM will tell you what goes wrong or how it doesn’t work the way you expected.
2 If two dice succeed, you do it, and it works.
3 If three dice succeed, you do it spectacularly well! The GM will tell you what extra effect you get.
If you roll your number exactly, something clicks in your sad monkey brain. Ask the GM a question from the list. They’ll answer you honestly.
With this information in mind, you can change your action and roll again.
To help someone who’s rolling, say how you help and roll. If any of your dice succeed, give the other monkey an extra die. If it’s the thing you hate to do, they’ve had to do it for you before! Give them two extra dice instead of one.
Roll, or choose, one option from each list.
Give the players room to explore, but whenever play slows down, introduce signs of a threat and ask what the monkeys do about it. Ask for a roll whenever someone could fail, if something interesting could happen as a result. A roll always changes something, whether they succeed or fail. Use failures and complications to push the story forward.
Starting out, the characters may be smarter-than-average monkeys, but they’re still monkeys, on a spaceship, and they’ll probably have to learn how to steer the thing. If that’s boring, skip it.
Don’t be afraid to make drastic changes or completely leave the randomly generated plot behind; it’s just there to get you started.
Adjust the plot and tone according to the players’ interests. The absurd premise doesn’t mean the game has to be pure slapstick. There’s always room for some variety in the tone. If the players have picked high numbers and more grounded options, they’re probably hoping for some serious moments. Make the threats creepy. Emphasize the danger of the monkeys’ plight, and look for angst in the silliness.
Or, if your players aren't into that, just be as ridiculous and over-the-top as possible.