More interesting/challenging ghost spawn roles

[ttgobb]

I’m a big fan of contributing to a round in unconventional ways, which is why I’m drawn to ghost spawners. They offer a unique opportunity to influence the game as an outsider rather than through the standard starting roles. However, many of the current ghost spawner options require multiple participants or feel too disconnected from the main ship, making them not really worth joining.

To make ghost spawning more engaging and meaningful, I’d love to see the addition of more challenging and interesting roles. Some ideas include:

• Stranded Survivor on a Damaged Ship: Start the game aboard a small, heavily damaged vessel drifting through space. Life support is failing, and you need to either repair the ship or send out distress signals to nearby stations or ships for rescue. The challenge lies in managing limited resources and the constant threat of total system failure before help arrives.
• Station Survivor in a Hazardous Outpost: Spawn on an abandoned or partially destroyed smaller space station overrun with hostile creatures, environmental hazards, or malfunctioning systems. Your goal would be to secure a safe zone, repair communication equipment, and call for help—or perhaps unravel the mystery of what happened there. This role could also allow you to stumble upon other survivors or confront the very threat that caused the station’s downfall.
• Solo Pilot of a Small Ship: Start as the captain of a small, independent ship, such as a cargo runner, trader, or nomadic explorer. Each ship would have its own unique mission or purpose, whether it’s transporting vital supplies, striking deals with different factions, or exploring unknown regions of space.
• Marooned Miner in a Crashed Escape Pod: Start as a lone miner who has crash-landed on a massive asteroid after your escape pod malfunctioned. The asteroid’s surface is treacherous and filled with environmental hazards, forcing you to rely on your mining skills to survive. Your objective is to gather resources and find a way to signal for rescue—all while navigating the harsh, uncharted terrain of the asteroid.

These ideas are just a starting point, but the key is to create ghost roles that are not only challenging but also add depth to the round. They don't have to be tightly connected to the main ship, but they should offer unique opportunities for players to engage with the crew in interesting ways.

[NerdyVampire]

Would definitely be more attracted to ghost roles myself like these

And it gives some good stories to tell if the survivor ever get to the Horizon.

[hazelmouse]

The idea of a solo ghostrole set on a tiny ship that can do diverse things is actually very engaging, and I intend to give it a shot. These are all excellent ideas and I absolutely concur that more dynamic ghostroles have immense potential, especially since we have submaps with which we can randomise elements of maps now.

[furrycactus]

These could definitely be a lot of fun, and I wouldn't be opposed to taking a crack at trying to map one of these sometime maybe.

[furrycactus]

On 24/08/2024 at 08:31, ttgobb said:

Station Survivor in a Hazardous Outpost: Spawn on an abandoned or partially destroyed smaller space station overrun with hostile creatures, environmental hazards, or malfunctioning systems. Your goal would be to secure a safe zone, repair communication equipment, and call for help—or perhaps unravel the mystery of what happened there. This role could also allow you to stumble upon other survivors or confront the very threat that caused the station’s downfall.

Oh yeah I'm working on this one btw. Except as a large derelict instead