Creator's Kit: Advice

It will be easier to write, and you can focus on certain story elements that you may not be able to otherwise.

If the plot diverges from a point — often after a success or failure at an obstacle — try to bring it back to the main thread soon after. You will be tempted to write a mission like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel with numerous twists, turns, and outcomes. Those stories are cool, but they are hard to write. Also, their focus is diffused among so many different plots that intention and detail can be lost.

Remember, simple does not have to mean short. Most mission modules have 15-20 prompts, but they can be twice as long if the story requires it. Just remember to provide an opportunity for the pilot to recharge their rustbucket.

The most exciting missions are those in which the pilot survives but very nearly burns out in the process.

To create that experience, tally the average number of cards that the player will draw during your mission, and see if you can have players draw at least 48 cards on average before they can recharge their battery.

Remember that they can reuse some of these cards, and they will also have unexpected failures and setbacks.

As pilots grow weary with experience, their total number of cards will decrease, making the mission more deadly.

I also recommend that you don’t have too many cards drawn after the story's climax. If your pilot burns out while on their way home or during a minor task at base, you may find it anticlimactic.

Journaling games allow you to explore you character’s psychology and their relationship with other characters.

• Start a mission by incorporating a pilot who is the protagonist’s friend, and then have them stab them in the back later.
• Create a rival pilot whom the protagonist must save, much to their chagrin. Perhaps they become closer over time?

Let the players invent these backstories, imagine the dialogue, and reflect on the drama.

There is nothing cooler in a story when you defeat the antagonist, except when that antagonist transforms into their final form and the battle continues.

Rust Never Sleeps doesn’t have conventional combat, but it does have obstacles, which can simulate combat. Create epic fights by putting two obstacles back to back: you thought you defeated the enemy rustbucket? Sorry... They’re just getting started.

Switch to Side Two of your mixtape for sad scenes. Switch back to Side One for most adventure, combat, and travel. Occasionally, invite the pilot to reflect on a song while it plays. Perhaps it is a specific song, whose themes align with the mission. Or perhaps you ask them to shuffle the playlist and skip to the next song.

In addition to grunge music, work in grunge themes, like social alienation, self-doubt, burnout, and betrayal. Tell stories about resisting authority or disillusionment. Incorporate grunge fashion or a gritty, distressed aesthetic.

I recommend charging between $2 and $4. If you share it with me, I will add it to an itch collection, share it in my newsletter, and post about it on social media. I can’t guarantee it, but there’s a good chance that I will be your first sale and first player.

Some common themes among abilities include...

• Prediction or Accuracy: Looking at the top cards of your battery pack
• Energy Efficiency: Discarding into the auxiliary reserve instead of the junkyard
• Recharging: Resurrecting a card from the junkyard
• Solar Power: Special effects during the day or at night
• Boosts: Special effects when you SMACK the big red button
• Reliability: Alternative conditions for success
• Prime your Engine: Pulling specific cards from the battery pack
• Clean your gears: Shuffling your battery pack
• Salvage: Turning cards into loot or spare parts

You can even mix and match these abilities for unique effects.

I recommend that you create your own abilities, but you are welcome to adapt or repurpose any of the example abilities below:

• Power Converter: A spade (♠) counts as a diamond (♦) for this equipment.
• Power Converter: A spade (♠) counts as a club (♣) for this equipment.
• Power Converter: A spade (♠) counts as a heart (♥) for this equipment.
• After you draw a heart (♥) for this equipment, reveal the top card of your battery pack. You can either leave it on the top or you can shuffle your battery pack.
• When you draw diamond (♦) for this equipment, you gain a spare part.
• When you PUNCH the Button with this equipment, you do not suffer a setback if the sum of your cards exceeds 21.
• When you use this equipment during the day, you can place any clubs (♣) cards face down in your auxiliary reserve instead of your junkyard.
• Before you draw for this equipment, you can shuffle your battery pack. 
• When you use this equipment, you can burn the top three cards of your battery pack instead of drawing a card. You automatically succeed.

Mission generators use a unique mechanic to help you improvise a scene or a montage by listening to music.

To Make a Scene, shuffle the designated playlist and listen to a random song. Imagine what scene might open with that song playing. Let the music inform the subject of your scene, and use your narrative sensibilities to connect it to the events that preceded.

When you Make a Montage, you’ll brainstorm a series of scenes. Often, you’re brainstorming CHALLENGES or OBSTACLES to overcome based on the song that’s playing. You can always turn to your trusty grungebank for support. For example, the lyric “breathing is the hardest thing to do” could mean that you walk into a suffocatingly toxic marsh.

Brainstorm the types of missions that you would like to play as a rebel pilot. Some of the core mission types include salvage, rescue, bounty, or sabotage.

Other ideas could include ambush, eradicate, defend, escort, recon, capture, or reinforcements.

I recommend approximately 10 logs for each mission in a generator. Remember: generated missions rely more heavily on journaling. Let the players fill in the gaps.

Whereas mission modules can have some branching events, mission generators have none. Mission generators assume that if the pilot fails at a task or obstacle, they still find a way to resolve the situation. Sure, they may suffer a setback, but they can still fail forward in the plot. 

The job of the generator is to supply only the most fundamental skeleton for a mission. You don’t have to provide a lot of details in your prompts. Let the player flesh out the drama and the plot in their journals.