RPG Madness over on YouTube asked how I would handle a Master Edition version of the Fragment character type from second edition ICRPG, and of course, I had to find out.
The Fragment didn’t make it into the Master Edition version of WARP SHELL, but there was plenty to work with so converting over a class like this over to Master Edition was really an easy process. Especially when you follow the general outline as I talked about when we made Vogons from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Note: As with any custom character type, this was my approach to the character, but that doesn’t mean it’s set in stone. You can always tweak character types to better match your vision of what that Type should be.
Building the Fragment
Since the Fragment was already an existing class, my goal was to capture that original feel from CORE, but also pump it up a bit. I wanted the Fragment to feel at home within the sci-fi world of WARP SHELL, even though it’s essentially a mage in space. How to do it though? Well, when I realized that Fragments are meant to be closely tied to YOG, I had my answer.
But what is YOG?
YOG is a type of crystal that ran through a lot of second-edition ICRPG. It was magically charged and imbued with all sorts of properties. YOG could boost a spell casters magic in Alfheim, power a Warp Shell as it flew through the universe, and even keep Ghost Mountain afloat somewhere between Heaven and Hell. It was mentioned but never definitively defined, which kept it open for a lot of interpretation. But that also made it harder to implement consistently. So when Master Edition came along, YOG didn’t quite make the cut. That also meant that a character type, so tightly tied with YOG didn’t make much sense to include either.
But that’s okay! This just means we have a chance to revive the Fragment for Master Edition, and I really feel like focusing on the crystal aspect of this character type will set it apart from just any old mage in Alfheim. The crystals can be used to highlight all of the energy you might come across in space. They can glow or grow ominously. Maybe even be corrupted under the light of a Darkstar? Who knows!
If you choose to be a Fragment, I’d really hope you’d lean into the mysterious and alien side of sci-fi. Where there are things out in the universe that we don’t truly understand and the YOG and the Fragment can be tied into that. But how would you play the Fragment? What kind of character would you build? For me, I envision a Fragment floating through space to land on the surface of a burning star. Why would they need to do that and how would they survive? I don’t know, but it sounds awesome! Let me know who your Fragment character would be in the comments.
And I want to give a big thanks to my Kiln Supporters, who helped refine the Fragment. They got to see the first draft of this character type and help guide it from simply a fire mage in space to this crystal-focused character that I really think adds a nice touch to Warp Shell. Their feedback and thoughts are always so helpful and appreciated!
If you want to get a peak behind the scenes, and into the Inner Sanctum of the Kiln, come support me on Ko-Fi. Your support keeps the Kiln burning hot!
This is a pretty cool class. I am preparing a game of Warp Shell with some friends and doing some extra research when I came across this post. I can’t believe I haven’t read up on this character type, too bad it was cut but thank you for updating it!
Crystals are a big part of my campaign, and Yog crystals are an interesting concept. It harkens back to games I played growing up that had some cool concepts that still stick with me and make their way in one form or another as inspiration when I world build. As far as character types I’d make with this, I’ll jot down a few notes here and site some inspirational sources.
>> The Arbiter – “She arrived in the galactic senate quite dramatically with a flash of lightning and all of the electrical systems in the assembly hall flickered and struggled to stay online in her presence.” I played a game long ago called Starflight which had a premise that described a galaxy plagued by a wave of solar flares that was destroying whole civilizations. Humans are looking for a new home as Earth had suffered the same fate so long ago that no one can even remember where Earth is located or that they originated from there. Long story short – Both fuel and currency in Starflight is a rare crystal called Endurium. This crystal makes FTL travel possible, so it is a necessity to find it. As you explore the galaxy, spending and burning countless units of the wonder crystal, your investigation eventually leads you to learn that a Crystal planet is responsible for the destruction of so many worlds. Your mission is to destroy it, but this crystal planet is actually made of pure Endurium! It must be eradicated however to save the galaxy. This victory is bittersweet because you learn that the crystal planet was made by Endurium itself which is actually a crystal life form. Their metabolism is so slow that other civilizations come and go in seconds to them and being burned as fuel is like a great plague to them. Their only defense against this genocide is this doomsday weapon. Saving the galaxy is simply going to allow everyone to continue burning them up in perpetuity as they are essential for space travel.
– So, I was thinking, how about taking this sort of story a step further in Warp Shell. What if there is an answer in the form of arbiters sent by the “Crystal planet” To negotiate some kind of understanding. Certainly, something can be done than open genocide between the newly discovered YOG crystal sentience and the other life forms that have been burning them for centuries. These “Fragments” have been changed somehow to be able to exist at the same timescale and likeness of humanoids in order to venture with the crew of a Warp Shell and hopefully find an answer to this crisis. Afterall, at their time scale, living an entire lifetime among the other lifeforms is a blink of an eye! A character like this I imagine would be socially quirky, almost like Leeloo from The Fifth Element. That in itself would be a lot of fun to roleplay.
This might make a cool zine to supplement this character type. Feel free to steal the idea if ya like it.
<3 Lux
Kahn I could kiss you! … love the Fragment since it was my first ICRPG character class. Thanks for doing the work.
~Ezzerharden