 June 14, 2010 - 5:42pm | A recent SF discussion over at the Dragonsfoot forums (classic D&D group) yielded a poster who claimed that despite the originality, did not care for the aliens. "Humans-only" sprouted up from there as a result of various human-only D&D games. So how would you rewrite the game for humans-only? |
 June 14, 2010 - 6:53pm | Depending on how dark you want your campaign to be, you could easily just put Humanity at odds with the other races as in "evil extra-terrestrial conquerors," or if your players enjoy the other side of the coin, Humanity could be the dominating race. Either way paves the road to action, intrigue, conflict, and rich story lines. Going with the first thread, Human kind could be enslaved by the other races, and could be fighting for the freedom of their race. Scenarios could involve the quest for better tech to combat the Alien Scourge, and having an "underground network" of sources and espionage. The second thread could find Humanity struggling to reach-out to the stars, and finding these aliens who are not receptive to visitors. You could give Humankind the edge in technology, and allow the other races to team-up against them to balance the scales. Perhaps it's the advanced tech possessed by the Humans that makes the other races jealous, and causes them to lash-out against the Humans, and strive to steal their tech, and therefore, their power. "...glad I keep this around for close encounters..." |
June 14, 2010 - 8:41pm | My thoughts, as far as nixxing the other races altogether: An all-human SF game would not be difficult. A minor rewrite of the Frontier map is in order, designating one system as host to a "home world" and the rest receive an altered history (yaz worlds can be populated by tribal humans, dral worlds by intelligent think-tankers, vrusk worlds by business class/megacorp, etc). Then you make the Sathar a cult of suicidal humans bent on destroying the Frontier and you're good to go. You'd have to do minor rewrites on some of the written modules...you simply nix any racial abilities and make 'em all human, since the skills translate the same for any race. The Volturnus trilogy for example: make the alien races primitive human tribes (desert dwelling "Ul-Mor" tribe, tree dwelling "Karubanda" tribe, etc), and retain a few of their unique abilites for fun (like the Ul-Mor mind meld). But keep the mechanons...sentient robots are always fun  The "Beyond the Frontier" series might need a deeper rewrite, depending on how mysterious you want your "Sathar Cult" of humans to be. Even so, it wouldn't be a major task. |
 June 14, 2010 - 9:04pm | Sounds Like Serenity/Firefly I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 17, 2010 - 12:23pm | The Buck Rogers game (I never really watched the show) was humans only, but there were humans adapted to life on the different planets. So a 'Martian' was actually a human from Mars. You still got stat bumps and special traits from picking a different type of human. I guess what I'm saying is the simplest route is to keep the stats and names all the same and just say they're a human adapted to a different environment. Other than yaz gliding and dralasite shapeshifting you could keep everything the same. |
 June 18, 2010 - 5:14pm | I'd play it with a Babylon 5 kind of feel to it. Every race has it's own governments and more or less sticks to their own kind, unless there's some gain to come from working with another race. Which would likely mean the only place you're going to see a ship of mixed races is an independant ship or group, likely free traders, pirates or some thing of that sort. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
 June 21, 2010 - 7:53am | You could even take it further and have different planets populated by different types of humans: Neanderthal, Australopithecus, et al. Each with different strengths and weaknesses but having Frontier technology. But then you're really going for aliens under a different name. |
June 21, 2010 - 2:00pm | You could even take it further and have different planets populated by different types of humans: Neanderthal, Australopithecus, et al. Each with different strengths and weaknesses but having Frontier technology. But then you're really going for aliens under a different name. You're actually right back to the Buck Rogers RPG setting with this except it was limited to Sol system with humans engineered to live on the various planets and moons of Sol system. Though the BR setting isn't that attractive for a number of reason, the first being that the IP owner was responsible for Star Frontiers being cancelled. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 21, 2010 - 2:46pm | You could do something along the lines of Issac Asimov's Foundation series and releated books. That is completely set in a Human only universe. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
June 21, 2010 - 3:00pm | Though the BR setting isn't that attractive for a number of reason, the first being that the IP owner was responsible for Star Frontiers being cancelled. That, and she isn't exactly human either. |
 June 22, 2010 - 12:17pm | You know, the more I think about this, the more I like it. Not so much humans only, but humans mostly. And all respective races to their own corners of the galaxy, so to speak. This gives a chance make good use of all those unique alien cultural ideas the community has been cooking up. There is plenty of opportunity for game play if you develop it with tensions and uneasy peace treaties between the races. I imagine it would be a scramble to colonize the best planets before the ‘other guys’ do. I would envision that jointly held planets would have each species controlling their own continents and a world government would be a confederation at best. This would require a weak UPF, though I think many play that way already. I have never been too fond of it myself. It smacks of the UN. A lot of hot air and greased palms. This spin would make interplanetary conflict more common. And to me, that just spells action! Is anybody seriously considering running games in this type of frontier? Has anyone starting working up anything (un)officially? |
June 22, 2010 - 2:45pm | I ditched the "UPF = weak" long ago, albeit with a surplanted government that takes over said weak UPF. Considering my game has a quasi-Star Wars background feel to it (I have a dictator rather than an emporer, but you can't miss the basic parallel feel) a humans-only would really boost that Star Wars feel (as the Empire is strictly human), alas my dictator general is a yazirian and it's way toolate for a full campaign rewrite. But the more I contemplate it, the more I'd ike to run a separate humans only game. Maybe we should start a new project for this? |
June 22, 2010 - 3:01pm | To my mind, there are 2 possible settings you could choose from: 1 - Humans only, or majority in a contemporary UFP setting; all the existing rules and background are as written, but the other races are written out either mostly or completely. Or..... 2 - Set it in the very early days of the frontier, all the other races are out there, but they've yet to be discovered. The area of known space would be smaller and the main thrust of the campaign would be towards exploration and first contact. |
June 25, 2010 - 8:47am | Is anybody seriously considering running games in this type of frontier? Has anyone starting working up anything (un)officially? <*/ This transmission was intercepted /*> I just wanted to pipe in and throw some thoughts out, hope you all don't mind. The FS Core Handbook is based on humans only. A separate setting book is provided that details other races, megacorps, planets, ships, etc. This design approach allows Referee's to build their own setting (AZ Gamer has already started one). We would like to make a professional, high-quality, artwork'ized Star Frontiers setting book. The loose plan is to start a project (not sure where yet) where we can all participate and gather up SF content (this site, the wiki, mail-archive, etc.) and make a COMPLETE SF book including a time-line. :-) How frigg'in cool would that be!  In this book we could have a chapter that called "Humans Only Frontier" and a sub-section detailing a "Mostly human frontier with sparse populations of the core four and/or all the races in SF and SFman. Just some ideas...
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June 25, 2010 - 9:08am | I just thought of something... The Star Frontiers setting book will use the FS core mechanics; it's a skill-based d100 system that is roughly based on "A Skilled Frontier" article in SFman with ability name changes and lots of character generation tools including Origins! The ship building system will be very different from Knight Hawks, we crafted a creation system to build vehicles and spaceships. You can check out the beta version here. I'm guessing if your like me you love the SF setting, not the rules. Although we like the simplicity of the rules, FS is no different. |
June 28, 2010 - 12:39pm | Dammit w00t stop teasing me with your Frontierspace content! I want to see the book!!! |
June 29, 2010 - 7:14am | Muahhaaha ! Believe me I want the product ready to play myself! In the end it will be well worth the wait. Exciting is hardly the word I would chose. |
July 14, 2010 - 5:29pm | Well is suddenly occurs to me that the space odessy modules are Human only (and official) Though since no one mentions them much I would guess that they're considered the red headed step children of the modules. maybe they could be tweeked to be a mystery about some alien tech that will draw a group of humans to the Frontier? The plus is you get to use the deck plans and still images from the movies. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
July 14, 2010 - 8:32pm | Were those modules more fun to play than sitting through the actual movies? Honestly, I have made about a dozen serious attempts at renting/watching that first flick since it was released on home video and have yet managed to stay awake. I might just be cursed on that end...YMMV |
 July 14, 2010 - 10:10pm | You're just saying that because out of one hundred and thirty-nine minutes in the movie, only 45 of them have dialog. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
July 14, 2010 - 10:26pm | Hence the need to tweek the modules or make it about a different mystery than was in the movies since apparently the mystery in the movie is still a mystery....... I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
July 15, 2010 - 11:21pm | You're just saying that because out of one hundred and thirty-nine minutes in the movie, only 45 of them have dialog. LOL, but I'm serious about the number of failed attempts...that movie never managed to hold my attention. Not sure if that's the reason, I'd say it's due more to a whole lot of nothing going on.  |
July 16, 2010 - 6:47am | LOL, but I'm serious about the number of failed attempts...that movie never managed to hold my attention. Not sure if that's the reason, I'd say it's due more to a whole lot of nothing going on. That's because it was too realistic for a movie. But that's what a long trip to the outer solar system using chemical drives would be like. One long stretch of nothing to do but read and exercise  . We're not that patient when we watch movies/television. We want things to be happening. We get enough long boring waits in real life, we don't need them in our entertainment.Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
July 16, 2010 - 2:28pm | Truth be told, I've yet to see it on DVD. VHS fast forward is only one speed, DVD allows multiple FF speeds and chapter skips...now the real trick becomes finding it available to rent on DVD. Not paying $20 to watch it. Nope. |
July 17, 2010 - 8:54am | I found both 2001 and 2010 in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart a while back. They probably aren't there anymore though. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
July 17, 2010 - 8:07pm | So those movies would be sci fi reality shows? I'm with shadow. I hate reality shows.  |
July 18, 2010 - 3:54am | No, they weren't reality shows. The first one came out before Star Wars and just like Star Wars, it actually has decent special effects for its time. However, it fails to grab your attention like Star Wars...it's all special effects for the sake of having special effects. Kinda like all of today's CG movies...lots of eye candy, not much plot.  "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" pretty much had the same effect. Seriously though, there is a story in there. An early A.I. "what if" type of tale, where the computer takes over. At least that's what I'm told, I simply haven't made it that far. Independance Day does a homage to the flick, when the father/son duo are racing to the White House the laptop cheerfully greets the user on start up with "Good morning, Dave" --- the same line and same voice used in 2001. |
July 18, 2010 - 4:40pm | Actually, I think it was the opposite. There was too much plot to be effectively communicated by a visual medium. If you read the novel, the movie makes a whole lot more sense. There was a lot going on, especially at the end with all the psychadelic swirling colors and the creepy hotel but with only one character there, it was hard to convey what was going on without dialogue. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
July 19, 2010 - 3:12am | Read the book before watching the flick? That's SACRELIGE!!! Okay, I did that for at least half of the Star Wars flicks...a lot got cut out. And on that note, I read L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield: Earth" years before the movie came out. The word "disappointment" is an understatement... |
July 19, 2010 - 4:13pm | I admit its been a while since I read it, but I remember the movie following the fairly closely in terms of what was going on. The main difference was that they went to Saturn instead of Jupiter and the big monolith was on Enceladus instead of in orbit. But the whole "star child" thing was the same, and the book explained what was going on much better. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
July 20, 2010 - 8:56pm | Read the book before watching the flick? That's SACRELIGE!!! Okay, I did that for at least half of the Star Wars flicks...a lot got cut out. And on that note, I read L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield: Earth" years before the movie came out. The word "disappointment" is an understatement... typically books have to be trimmed back when making a movie, unless you read a book that was a movie first and the book was writen after- I read the book for the first batman movie (the one with Nicolson as the Joker) and it read exactly like the movie which was also a disappointment. I strongly suggest reading Battlefield Earth and skipping the movie. Saddly Clark is a bit more cerebral of a writer with more than just entertainment on his mind and I recommend him in small doses. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
