Idle thinking, because I have other things I need to be doing with my time.

Idle thinking, because I have other things I need to be doing with my time.

Saw and loved Interstellar. Then I realized that, in some ways, it maps really well into Swords terms. The characters are going to strange places, discovering weird and wondrous things, and facing great perils. I'm not sure that it's the best fit, but there's enough here that I think it could be worked with.

Tones: this is pretty straightforward: Cosmic and Human
Cosmic: massive, strange, awe-inspiring, vast, unfamiliar, inhuman
Human: vulnerable, passionate, desperate, emotive, painful, introspective

Phases: Keith Stetson made a great observation about the importance of changing up the Phases for a Swords hack, and tinkering with other mechanics. I think he's spot-on.

The Discovery Phase can stay completely as-is. The tone dictates how you arrive at this insight: whether it's from looking outwards or looking inwards.

There should be some sort of phase that discusses the passage of time, and I think it can replace the Rogues' Phase. It works like so...first, you roll the dice and get your Tone. Then someone makes a demand by telling you something that you see: a massive black hole, a memento, a message from someone on Earth. (It works the same as in Rogues phase: the person giving the demand is the one who passed you the dice.) You then have to answer one question: "What does this mean to you?" You answer this by briefly describing the prompt, and then giving a concise answer at the end.

I'm stumped when it comes to a third phase, though. There clearly needs to be a phase covering what happens when they land on a planet, because there's already the two other phases to cover A: gathering information and choosing a path and B: the voyage between planets. (Oooh, good name for that second phase: the Voyage Phase.)

But the Perilous Phase doesn't quite fit, because it assumes that the two Tones are how you strive against a threat. In the other two phases for this hack, they're Tones that describe what you encounter. OH! Maybe that's it. I don't know what to replace the Thunder/Storm with, but in the Expedition Phase, each roll introduces a new element to the planet or elaborates on an existing one, and that's determined by the Tone you roll. I just need a good replacement for the constant pressure and goal that the Thunder/Storm provide.

Otherwise, the Expedition Phase is a more moment-to-moment version of the Discovery Phase, which works for me. Maybe you roll Human as a Tone and discover that one of the crewmembers is going off of their rocker. Maybe you roll Cosmic as a Tone and see a giant freaking wave approaching everyone. I guess it'd be good to answer the question of "what are they doing when on a planet?" Which I guess is "assessing the planet". In which case, it's about evaluating the planet and figuring out if it's viable for life.

Hmm....