Speculation Wiki



Welcome to Speculation
Speculation is a role-playing system. It is pretending... with rules.

Speculation encourages strategic thinking and develops problem-solving skills. It can be as intense as the participants can handle – or as relaxing as they need. It can be used for scenario walkthroughs or testing tactical options. This system is based on the real world, finding a balance between a metric of physics and the consensus of Subject Matter Experts.

Unlike many legacy systems that started as a game and piled on "realism" rules, this started as a technical simulation and scaled it back to a game. We've worked hard to balance believability with pacing, keeping the scenario moving and the players engaged. With optional rules, it can roll as fast or as precise as players are looking for.





Technical Capacity
Speculation shines in its flexibility and adaptability. It can be utilized to plan for any incident, situation or genre. The system makes tabletop simulation as compact and flexible as the Incident Command System (ICS) itself. It also means that scenarios are playable as a game – one of the four methods of discussion-based exercises identified in the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

Facilitators can take any source material, set the scope and parameters of the scenario, determine their SMART objectives, then bring in the players. A game-based environment allows those players to relax, accept the artificialities of the system, then work through the situations as presented.

With Subject Matter Experts as players, observers and evaluators, it can even be used forensically, as a tool for investigation or Root Cause Analysis.

Working Outside the Comfort Zone
Official business, though, only scratches the surface of what Speculation can do. With this foundation, it can reverse engineer the impossible. Use Speculation to explore the Twilight Zone and reach deep into the mystical without losing your logic.

This system speculates well beyond our mundane world into some truly magical territory. There are chapters and sections that deal with alternate worlds and allow the spirit of simulation to bring internal consistency to our favorite genres.

An Overview
Maybe you're an old hand at RPGs... or maybe you've never seen dice that didn't have six sides. Either way, the following topics will help you chart a course through the Speculation system. What's this all about? Or what makes it different from everything else? We've got you covered.

Never BTDT
Folk who have never Been There or Done That in a gaming sense can get a primer here...

RPGs: Familiar Territory...?
Experienced roleplay gamers can get a feel for the system here...

Character Counts
The process of building a player's avatar begins here...

The Art of the Ref
Game Masters, DMs and Facilitators can get dialed-in here...

Come Together
The logistics of gaming sessions, especially the first one, has some guidance here...

Genre Friction
Find out what kind of scenarios this system can be used for here...

The End of the Beginning
Before departing on the journey of a lifetime (maybe several), remember to have fun with it.

Even if you're using Speculation for a discussion-based exercise, creative and resourceful folk often find the crease in the rules, that wiggle room between the letter and the intent. Go with the intent. If something doesn't make sense, fix it or chuck it. As Captain Barbossa would say, "They're more like guidelines..."

Whether Player or Ref, always keep the question in your head: What would happen if…? That is the basis of Speculation.

For a little bit more of the design philosophy, check out our map for the Yellow Brick Road...

Next stop: actual rules.

CHARACTER CREATION

 * How to build characters and NPCs.

SYSTEM MECHANICS

 * The nuts and bolts of a simulated reality.

CAMPAIGN SETTINGS

 * Building a world worth saving.



 Speculation missions may go further than originally planned...

Meet the Team: the author and contributing Speculators.

Latest Activity: see recent additions, edits and updates here.

