This jam is now over. It ran from 2021-08-17 12:18:00 to 2021-09-17 12:18:00.

tl;dr: Make any content that uses the PIONEERS tabletop RPG and/or is about early space probes.

Pioneer 0 (also known as Able 1) was a failed United States space probe that was designed to go into orbit around the Moon, carrying a television camera, a micrometeorite detector and a magnetometer, as part of the first International Geophysical Year (IGY) science payload. It was designed and operated by the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division as the first spacecraft in the Pioneer program and was the first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit by any country, but the rocket failed shortly after launch. The probe was intended to be called Pioneer (or Pioneer 1), but the launch failure precluded that name.
--From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As often as we remember the cosmonauts and astronauts who died in our early attempts at manned exploration of space, we often forget about the other selfless explorers that we went before us into space.

On the morning of August 17, 1958, the United States military bolted Able 1, a small probe weighing just over 80 pounds, to the top of a massive Thor missile and launched it skyward. Able 1 was to be the first object of human manufacture to orbit the Moon. 

Alas, such was not meant to be, as shortly after liftoff, Able 1 was destroyed. It had only managed to climb 9.4 miles before Thor 127 missile's liquid oxygen tank ruptured. Ever diligent, Able 1 broadcast erratic telemetry signals for two minutes after the explosion before meeting its fate in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the vacuum of space.

On the 63rd anniversary of Able 1's 73.6-second flight and subsequent destruction, we come together to remember the little probe that paid the ultimate price in mankind's quest for the planets.

The Game

PIONEERS is a tabletop roleplaying game where you play a desperate human Survivor of the conquest of the Solar System as Earth's errant children return in the 24th century. Pions, a merge of human-made space technology with an alien cybernetic race, have devastated or occupied most of the Inner and Outer Planets, with only a rag-tag fugitive group of doomed freedom fighters waging a war they can't win. 


PIONEERS uses the LUMEN system created by Gila RPGs for fast, video-game-inspired action.  Character creation in PIONEERS is easy: pick a class, choose which Colony you're from, roll for your gear, steal a derelict spacecraft, and oh yes, the hardest part: pick a name. 

The License

All of the game text that comprises the PIONEERS game is available under the Anti-Capitalist Attribution Cooperative License, which generally means if you're doing work for yourself or with a team of partners -- and you aren't a cop or the military or something -- you're free to  use whatever you like. (Read the license, the previous sentence isn't legal advice.)

You must also include this notice in any content you make that uses PIONEERS' game mechanics:

This game is Illuminated, and is made using the LUMEN system created by Spencer Campbell of GilaRPGs. This game is not affiliated with Gila RPGs.

The Jam

This jam commemorates poor li'l Able 1, "Pioneer 0" and runs for a month. The rules are:

  1. Do: Make something related to PIONEERS, or at least Pioneer probes if you don't want to use this LUMEN-based system.
  2. Don't: Create games for fascists. So no transphobia, aphobia, biphobia, sexism, racism, nationism, or any such crap.
  3. Do: Respect the licenses of both PIONEERS and LUMEN.
  4. Don't: Rip off anyone else's hard work.
  5. Do: Think outside the box and come up with things I couldn't have thought up.
  6. Don't: Submit a game you finished before the Jam started; that's kind of disrespectful to poor Able 1's memory, don't you think?
  7. Do: Let me know on Twitter if you're working on something for this Jam!

Things You Can Make!

The assumption here is that you're creating vaguely shaped like a tabletop roleplaying game -- but hey, if you want to make poetry, or paint a fluorescent picture of Able 1 on black velvet, submit that! -- which probably uses PIONEERS' LUMEN-based system. Here are some ideas:

  • Create a new Class.
    Classes have Attributes that add up to 6, Pools that add up to 15, random gear picks, three Class Talents, one React Talent, and one Ship Talent.
  • Create a new Ship.
    Ships also have Attributes that add to 6, Ship-Health from 2 to 10, 1 to 4 mount points with ship weapons pre-assigned to each mount, one Resistance, one Vulnerability, and 1 to 4 ship tags.
  • Create new Gear.
    Weapons in PIONEERS have effective range, Harm, and usually at least one weapon tag. Armor has a type of Harm it protects against and a number of charges. Miscellaneous gear ... can do whatever you want. Or make up some weapon tags players can swap onto their gear between Ops.
  • Create a new Pion.
    There are six known models of planetary Pions, and four more space-based Pions -- but who's to say there aren't more? Most Pions are named after unmanned space probes, and have the following stats: a Health pool; a type of attack with Range, Harm, and Tags; a Vulnerability; and three moves.
  • Explore the Solar System.
    The 12 major colonies of mankind and countless numbers of smaller outposts are scattered thoughout the Solar System; some are already under occupation, some are being nuked from orbit, and some are under a naval blockade. All of them get at most a sentence or two describing them -- pick one, decide what's there, and flesh it out. (Also, what is up with those alien life forms native to Venus, Europa and Titan??
  • Assign an Op.
    The adventures in PIONEERS are basically just plot hooks for players and Mission Control to use to build their own stories. But maybe you've got a new kind of Op in mind that isn't on the table? An "adventure" can be just a few paragraphs with a list of suggested Pions to fight. 
  • Break the Rules.
    As it is, PIONEERS doesn't have special subsystems for any number of actions someone might take -- from espioniage to engineering -- because it focuses on combat. Make up a variant rule that other PIONEERS players can use
  • Make a whole new Game. 
    If you like the PIONEERS rules but not the setting, adapt it for another scenario -- or if you like the setting, stat up some Pions in your favorite TTRPG! 
  • Something Pioneer space probes something something.
    If you just want to do anything else related to Able 1 itself, Pioneer space probes, or unmanned or manned space exploration, that's all fair game here.

Links

These might come in handy:

This jam won't be judged and there aren't fancy prizes or anything. Just have fun ... and watch the skies.