 October 5, 2014 - 4:53am | The eorna were a space faring civilizaiton on the day the sathar arrived. What happened to their star port? Certainly the sathar took it out. Was it done conventionally, with a nuke or with a kinetic strike from orbit? In the remains of the star port could be hulks of atomic powered eorna space craft. their atomic feul, whatever its halflife is likely to still be around and the condition of these craft after 900 years is likely to be very poor with radiation leaking from engine housing. Creating a hazard for the PCs. Part of the PC's acceptance by the ul-mor could be that an ul-mor warrior has explored the star port ruins and been exposed to enough ionizing radiation to become sick. The Eorna would be greatful if the PCs could solve the mystery of the strange illness and perhaps heal the ulmor warrior. Perhaps he took a few trinkets from his visit to the star port and these are giving off ionizing radiation and making others in the tribe sick. A visit to the ruins of the star port could replace or modify the exploration of Volkos. after the battle with the pirates, an ul-mor rider comes up and requests the PC's help for the above problem. Their toxy rad gauges will identify sources of ionizing radiation fairly quickly and the team's medic should be able to help those only mildly sick. So this encounter becomes a stepping stone to meeting the eorna. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 5, 2014 - 4:58am | Features of the Star Port: Overgrown security perimeter hulks of vehicles buildings in ruins launch facilities ruined ships museum of the eorna space program history and visitor center there could be evidence of the egg ship from SF-2, you'd have to rule that the eorna computer memory which would seem to be based on crystal technology (based on the mechanon description) is still viable that if power were supplied and the language understood one could access data and learn a few things. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 18, 2016 - 3:56am | After the players have been accepted by the Ul-mor a rider from another clan of Ul-mor arrives telling a tale of woe. A sickness has struck this other clan striking down strong warriors and the chief. Arthru Sea People's Bane, the leader of the clan that took in the PCs, is deeply concerned as this other clan is closely allied with him. The messenger rider tells of one rider bringing "star metal" from his exploration and that this preceded the advent of the sickness and since the PCs have "star metal" (basically manufactured goods from advanced industrial base that the Ul-mor cannot duplicate) there is a concern that the PCs may have brought sickness to Arthru's group. Role play the encounter to see if PCs offer to solve the mystery of the illness. If not have Arthru suggest the do. Fonn-Ar the Warrior and the messenger rider, Morad Sand Sifter will be sent with them to find the other clan. When the reach the other clan Fonn-Ar will pitch his tent separate from the other clan out of caution. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 18, 2016 - 4:41am | Reference article on Radiation sickness SFman 17. The PCs will clue in quick to the source of the illness if they have to toxyrad gauges. Removing the "hot" materials and burying them will remove danger. Ul-mor will be exhibiting symptoms similar to dralasites. PC who are careful will only be exposed to mild brief radiation exposure. Note the std med kit does not include nutrarad does. The big question now is source if the wrecked ship; UPF, sathar or eorna? Unless it's UPF the PCs will not recognize any of the equipment. If it's sathar ability checks might let them figure out that the sathar once visited this planet. If it's eorna that's a different mystery. My temptation is to make it sathar and have it be a precursor clue to their presence here, especially since they are about to encounter a quick death in the Ul-mor manhood Ceremony. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 18, 2016 - 5:05am | Trip to visit the other clan should be about 5 days, PCs will need another 5 or do days to nurse the sick back to health during which time they can become familiar with Ul-mor culture and cooking. Such basic skills as plucking a kwidge, skinning and roasting a cactus womper. After 5 days it should be obvious that the sick will recover and the PCs can make the now 10 day trip to catch up with Fonn-Ar's clan. Give 1-2 exp per PC based on contributions. Clearly a medic will figure large in this encounter but other characters should have opportunity to use skills. Extra reward: due to time spent riding lopers all PCs can now claim 0 level skill in loper riding its not the same as actually having the skill it just means that they are no longer at -20 for performing an action without the requisite skill. They can purchase the skill if they like and have it at lvl 1. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 18, 2016 - 12:54pm | While I never belted out a starport, feel free to source my SF:2KH Liberation of Volturnus board game I whipped up to conclude the Volturnus modules, it's in one of the SFman issues but I don't recall which. {EDIT} I found it here in this very project ;) http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/3699 |
 June 21, 2016 - 4:44am | Good idea... :0 "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 August 17, 2016 - 11:47am | I do like this idea of an old Eorna starport. Another thing you could tie into it is why do the lifeboats go to this one location on Volturnus? Why did the Star Devil pick this particular region -- which is a speck on the planet -- to set up his operations? Maybe there is some old beacon still at work, so the lifeboats home in on this signal to take the characters close to some place that is inhabited. Perhaps the pirates visited this old port and figured there wasn't anything there that they could use. They don't care if some old space faring race died out centuries ago, but the starport is what lured them there originally. Maybe the Truane's Star government also knows more about Volturnus than they originally let the characters know about, but then you'd have to figure out why they would send a bunch of newbies in after a more experienced expedition failed... Of course, from reading other posts, you still have that dilemna as a referee. Joe Cabadas |
 August 17, 2016 - 1:44pm | Maybe the Truane's Star government also knows more about Volturnus than they originally let the characters know about, but then you'd have to figure out why they would send a bunch of newbies in after a more experienced expedition failed... Of course, from reading other posts, you still have that dilemna as a referee. Heh. I like a setup in which Truane's Star is the first UPF member system to learn of the Zebulon's system's existence. TS sends the Jameson mission, but after nothing is heard back, rather than risk more of its own ships and personnel, TS contracts with the UPF for a survey mission – without mentioning its own lost ship and crew.... This lets me bring in a group of more experienced and better equipped PCs as the crew of the Eleanor Moraes, as sort of a prequel to SFKH2. Or, to keep the PCs' general skill set more in line with the module as published, they can be wet-behind-the-ears deckhands on the freighter that's contracted to haul around the Moraes' extra lander modules, who end up having to go down to the surface after the Moraes itself is not heard from after making planetfall on Volturnus. (Background: I like to run Truane's Star as kind of the bad guys of the UPF. The UPF itself is a little like the Athenians' Delian League – nominally a league of equal polities, but in practice, any system that tries to leave soon finds a UPF fleet at its doorstep, with all-Prenglarian commanders. Whenever anything happens to distract the UPF, Truane's Star is always first to make a bid for independence, and they're always looking for ways to stick it to Prenglar.) |
August 17, 2016 - 2:25pm | Maybe the Truane's Star government also knows more about Volturnus than they originally let the characters know about, but then you'd have to figure out why they would send a bunch of newbies in after a more experienced expedition failed... Of course, from reading other posts, you still have that dilemna as a referee. Heh. I like a setup in which Truane's Star is the first UPF member system to learn of the Zebulon's system's existence. TS sends the Jameson mission, but after nothing is heard back, rather than risk more of its own ships and personnel, TS contracts with the UPF for a survey mission – without mentioning its own lost ship and crew.... This lets me bring in a group of more experienced and better equipped PCs as the crew of the Eleanor Moraes, as sort of a prequel to SFKH2. Or, to keep the PCs' general skill set more in line with the module as published, they can be wet-behind-the-ears deckhands on the freighter that's contracted to haul around the Moraes' extra lander modules, who end up having to go down to the surface after the Moraes itself is not heard from after making planetfall on Volturnus. (Background: I like to run Truane's Star as kind of the bad guys of the UPF. The UPF itself is a little like the Athenians' Delian League – nominally a league of equal polities, but in practice, any system that tries to leave soon finds a UPF fleet at its doorstep, with all-Prenglarian commanders. Whenever anything happens to distract the UPF, Truane's Star is always first to make a bid for independence, and they're always looking for ways to stick it to Prenglar.) One can play Truane's Star any way they want. I thought that since they took on the HUSPS of New Pale that they don't like interracial bigotry, but that doesn't mean they don't have their leaders don't have their own ambitions and agendas. It is the home of Streel Corp., after all. But, back to your other point, I think the modules could be reworked by a referee for a more experienced group of PCs. I'm actually planning to start a group off with an adventure on Kraatar (Triskar) where they can tangle with some entry-level KLC operatives but without going in the Dark Side of the Moon module until much later. And then get them over to Truane's Star for their recruitment as part of a larger relief/rescue mission. Joe Cabadas |
August 17, 2016 - 5:17pm | Interesting the Truane's Star/ Prengular hostility becomes texture, tone and color for the Streel/PGC hostility. Another reason why the PCs are total Noobs is politics: someone has ordered a second expedition but another in the org wants this leader to fail and to that end arranged for third string players and tipped off the pirates. Evidence of this does exist and PCs can find it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
August 17, 2016 - 7:56pm | TS & Prenglar would be natural polar opposites, their governments are easily influenced by the big businesses that donate the most to their coffers. I like to think of PGC as General Motors while Streel is Japan: the latter will reverse engineer the former's goods and find a way to make it both more reliable and les expensive. As such Streel is more prone to shady business tactics in order to keep their bottom lines down, much like Japan did in the 1980s while "dumping" products at below wholesale MSRP prices (and the resulting tarriffs placed on said goods as a response by the American government). Anyone who has seen my Historical Adventures project will note the founders of Streel Incorporated (the small business that eventualy dropped the Inc to become a mega-corp) appear as being of asian descent. Although I do like a good twist to reality, as such I have Streel being "bullied" by PGC resulting in the animosity as they grew into a mega-corp...hot on the heels of the old SF Web Ring nostalgic sites hat had PGC hiring the Star devil to thwart Streel's exploration & exploitation of Volturnus. Hence I carried that same premise into my Historical Adventure project whee PGC is tormenting the new up and coming business by taxing their local TS ventures which, by all other rights, would have been ignored by the Frontier as a whole due to the remote location (long before Zebulon was discoered). |
