[Mothership] 1d10 Secret Agendas for One-shots
Secret agendas are fun.
TLDR: Scroll to the bottom for a 1d10 table of Secret Agendas for your next Mothership one-shot.
If you do a search you will find loads of examples of secret agendas on the Mothership discord, the Mothership reddit page (example 1 and example 2), on youtube videos, and of course the amazing Alien RPG.
So, basically, hidden agendas are by no means a new idea and lots of people love them. I'd consider myself part of that group as they add a great bit of additional spice when running games. A good secret agenda does at least one of three things:
- Forces the player to face an interesting dilemma during the game.
- Gives them some fun role play opportunities.
- Fosters a little bit of friction between the players.
Example: If you are running Ypsilon 14(slight spoiler ahead!), you might tell one player they must obtain a sample of the yellow goo, and doing so takes priority over anything else.
Simple! Now that player has a goal and it will encourage the character to take risks that the player probably wouldn't want to do if left to their own devices. I like this a lot but can we do more with secret agendas? I think so! What if we were to link the agendas a little to the Mothership game system...
Example: You are infected with a memetic virus. Write down a three word phrase. If you get anyone else to say this phrase during play you get [+] on your next roll. Write down a new three word phrase and repeat. If anyone suspects this is your agenda, Sanity Save / +2 stress + 1d10 DMG as the memetic virus causes a brain haemorrhage.
So, the example above is a bit more wordy, but links into the Mothership system. It can get you advantage ([+]) on rolls, links with Sanity Saves and stress, and can cause damage. It also has the bonus of being able to work in any scenario, and encourages a little bit of fun at the table. However, not all agendas need to be this complex or encourage nefarious behaviour. For a good set of secret agendas to work you also need to have more mundane agendas...
Example: Choose a player around the table, secretly write their character name on a piece of paper, you will do anything for this character.
This just encourages one player to be kind, with no mechanical benefit, other than the good will it fosters at the table. I think other agendas like this are great that just encourage a bit of thinking about your character like those given in this reddit post.
Anyway, with that all said, below is my attempt at a 1d10 table of secret agendas. These come with no warranty or guarantee!
1d10 Table of Secret Agendas
Below is a 1d10 table of secret agendas for a one-shot game of Mothership. During character creation get the players to roll on this table and then have them note down their agenda. Alternatively, print these onto 10 cards and hand them out randomly to each player.
Choose a player around the table, secretly write their character name on a piece of paper, you will do anything for this character.
Choose another player around the table, secretly write the character name on a piece of paper. Ensure that they do not survive this scenario. If anyone suspects you killed them intentionally, gain +10 stress and Panic roll.*
Write down a name. This is your old drinking buddy. Link what is happening to a horrific story they told you, up to three times, i.e. “This is just like when One-Eye Tom…” Reduce your stress by 1, everyone else Fear Save / +1 stress.
Write down the title of your character's memoir. Up to three times a session, ask characters to repeat something they just said and ask “Do you mind if I quote you on that?” If they say yes or are agreeable, reduce your stress by 1.
You have been tasked with capturing exciting memories for a virtual reality show. Gain the item Neuraliser. After another character goes through a dangerous situation, place the neuraliser against their head to steal their memory. They make a Body Save / +1 stress & 1d10 DMG.
You once signed up as a test subject for 100cr. The test seemed to have no effect… Whenever you fail a Sanity Save, your body tears its skin as all your muscles expand for the next 1d10 minutes. Take 1d10 DMG, and gain hand-to-hand combat skill. Your punches do 3d10 DMG. You choose who you are going to attack, if no enemy is nearby you have to pick a player. Everyone nearby Fear Save / +2 stress & Panic.
You have an experimental psychic implant that allows you to melt the brains of people nearby but you have no control of it. If you Panic reduce your stress to your minimum, and every organic thing around you takes 1d10 DMG every point of stress lost, including yourself.
You got someone you care about killed. Write down their name. You swear to never let someone die on your watch again. Whenever you can help someone in peril, kiss the piece of paper and say “This is for you [name]”. For the next 1d10 minutes get [+] on all rolls. After the situation ends Body Save / +2 stress and 1d5 DMG.
You have an unhealthy obsession with a band or musician. Try and slip their song titles into conversations. Choose one of their songs. One time, if you play the song at the table gain [+] on all rolls while the song is playing.
You have a neural implant that makes you able to comprehend events 10x faster than a regular human. Whenever you make a roll you may change the digit die by 1 value up or down. If you roll a critical: Sanity Save / +2 stress & Panic.
*This might sound scary, but in Mothership creating a new character is pretty quick and easy. If your table isn't up for this, swap it out for the memetic virus example in the main text.
Conclusion
If you like this table I also put together some Panic tables here and here. And if you are a cool cat, why not grab a copy of my recent one-shot scenario for Mothership Beneath Ice and Snow. The world needs more cool cats.