So Come Home - a three player GMless game about finding home by Kienna Shaw "i just want to go home" said the astronaut. "so come home" said ground control. ‘‘so come home,’’ said the voice from the stars. - tweet by Jonny Sun https://twitter.com/jonnysun/status/517461703630794752 An astronaut takes their last few breaths in space, and their soul calls for home. Ground Control answers, and so do The Stars. Together you will tell the journey of an astronaut, discover the memories they made, explore the places they might have called home, and decide where they finally rest. SETUP Safety So Come Home deals with the themes of impending death and can involve intense emotions. Therefore, make sure to have safety tools at the table. Discuss which ones are right for you, and have them available for use at any time. Find resources on different safety tools and how to use them in the TTRPG Safety Toolkit (bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit). Creating the Astronaut All players should answer the following questions: What is your name/what are you called? Why were you travelling alone in space? Why do you want to return to your home planet? Why do you want to stay adrift? Create a compiled database of images from the Astronaut’s life for Ground Control and The Stars to pull from. Find a database of images from Earth (e.g. National Geographic) and choose 10 images Find a database of images of space (e.g. NASA) and choose 10 images GAMEPLAY The game is played in six rounds. Decide who takes each role (Astronaut, Ground Control, The Stars) first. At the start of each round, the Astronaut opens with “I just want to go home.” Ground Control then takes their turn, followed by The Stars. At the end of each round, the Astronaut chooses which of the presented homes they are more drawn to. They note it down privately to be tallied up at the end of the game. Before the next round, the roles are passed in a circle. The Astronaut becomes Ground Control, Ground Control becomes The Stars, and The Stars becomes Ground Control. Play resumes again and repeats until the end of the sixth round. THE ROLES Astronaut As the Astronaut, your agenda is to: Find what home is Go with your heart’s instinct Remember the internal pull between Earth and space On your either Ground Control’s or The Stars’ turn: Ask or answer questions Add to the scene with details, complications, or more When you are a loss, refer back to the image your agenda Ground Control As Ground Control, your agenda is to: Bring the Astronaut back to Earth Remind the astronaut of what they left behind and what they hoped to return to Pull on feelings of nostalgia, comfort, and safety On your turn: Open with “So come home...” Choose one of the images in the Astronaut’s database that speaks to a memory on Earth and share it with everyone Set a scene based on that image, Ask the Astronaut questions to build and play out the scene, such as: - What do you miss about this place? - Who is someone important to you here? - What did you learn here that you still remember? Answer any questions the Astronaut has When you are at a loss, refer back to the image or your agenda The Stars As The Stars, your agenda is to: Keep the Astronaut in space Remind them of what they looked forward to and what they discovered on their journey Pull on excitement, anticipation, and wonder On your turn: Open with “So come home...” Choose one of the images in the Astronaut’s database that speaks to a memory in space and share it with everyone Set a scene based on that image, Ask the Astronaut questions to build and play out the scene, such as: - What’s something new you discovered here? - What danger did you face and how did you thwart it? - How long did you stay here? Answer any questions the Astronaut has When you are at a loss, refer back to the image or your agenda ENDING When all six rounds are complete, gather the results from the end of each round. Their home is the one that was chosen the most amount of times. If the Astronaut’s soul goes home to Ground Control: How did Ground Control return the Astronaut to Earth? How do The Stars burn a little less bright without the Astronaut? What place does the Astronaut’s soul go to rest? If the Astronaut’s soul goes home to The Stars: How did The Stars care for the Astronaut’s body? How does Ground Control memorialize the Astronaut? What place does the Astronaut’s soul go to rest? If the Astronaut’s soul cannot decide which is home: How did the Astronaut’s soul split between Earth and space? How do Ground Control and The Stars mourn the Astronaut? What two places does the Astronaut’s soul go to rest? “I just want to go home,” says the astronaut. And so they went home.