Gradient Descent Deepdive - companion book

UPDATE: Following a request from Tuesday Knight Games, I have removed this file from this website. The individual chapters remain available on r/mothershiprpg: search for "Brainstorming Gradient Descent" or u/Lumpy_Peanut_226 to find them. I may be able to release a complete version again if and when TKG expands their licensing for Gradient Descent. Follow this page to be notified when that happens.

This is an unofficial Warden's companion book for running Gradient Descent, the Mothership RPG module by Tuesday Knight Games. It is not a replacement for the module - you need the original to use these materials. What this essay adds is interpretation, expansion, and practical guidance: the flesh on the skeleton.

Each chapter explores one area, faction, or system of the Deep: its themes, its NPCs, its mechanics, and how to run it at the table. The goal is to make Gradient Descent sing, to understand every space deeply enough to fill its silences with something worthy of it.

CONTENTS

PART ONE — Factions & Concepts
• The Blockade: structure, corruption, how to run it as more than an obstacle
• Troubleshooters: who they are, how to encounter them, Commander Kilroy's secret agenda
• Divers: as mirrors, threats, resources. The Divers' network
• Diver Creation Tool: a 7-step system for generating Divers on the fly or in prep
• Brainscans & Paranoia: Monarch's arsenal, the Neural Scrambler, running paranoia over time
• Infiltrators: the swap, the long game, the player who becomes the infiltrator
• Ghosts in the Machine: how they work, their powers, four fully developed Ghost profiles
• Monarch's Voice: simulating superintelligence, the lurker, example dialogue

PART TWO — Locations
• The Bell: the keepers, the community, Ghost Eater's backstory, what can go wrong
• Reception & Habitation (Floor 1): luxury apartments, the infirmary, NPCs
• The Minotaur: the severance theory, the chess match, endgame paths
• The Eden Experiment: the purpose of EDEN, the Chosen, the Fallen
• The Kingdom: the court, hooks for the crew
• The Dark: the underworld, the factions, the hooks
• The Labyrinth: expanded exploration table, encountering and freeing the Minotaur
• The Factory: Zero-G and darkness, exploitable neglect and Forgotten Androids

This document is a work in progress. At the moment it's 76 pages long, and will be updated regularly.

—

This document began as a public discussion series on r/mothershiprpg and has been revised, expanded, and compiled here. Contributions from the Mothership community are credited throughout.

This is unofficial fan content. Gradient Descent is © Tuesday Knight Games. This document is not affiliated with or endorsed by TKG. You need the original module to use these materials.

—

OTHER PUBBLICATIONS BY ME:
Equipment sheet designed to complement the Mothership RPG character sheet. It allows you to easily track each piece of equipment's location and encumbrance. It includes a simple house rule for managing encumbrance.
Critical Rolls tables for Mothership RPG. They include tables for critical successes and failures on stat/skill checks, and also specifically for combat rolls. They can be used as a menu or randomly rolled on. The failures tables can be used for the fail forward technique.
Diver Creation Tool is a practical toolkit for creating memorable diver NPCs for your Gradient Descent campaign.