Discussing a Frontier Monster Manual

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 7:31am
So I'm working on a catalog in the documents section this project where I've created 27 pages to catalog in alphabetical order from every canon source: Rules, modules excluding the Space Odessy modules, the Endless quest books Captive Planet and Villains of Volturnus but not Trouble on Artule, Dragon, Ares and Polyhedron articles. Non Canon sources: Star Frontiersman and Frontier Explorer published to date.

At the moment I'm not taking the time to retype the creature stats and description but rather simply create a catalog of all creatures with a source code AD for Alpha Dawn, CoV for Crash on Volturnus, Bugs for Bugs in the System, SFM 18 for Star Frontiersman #18. All documents get added to the front page of this catalog with their code or with an n/a if they had no creatures after they were reviewed. Page numbers are also listed to fascilitate locating info unless i was working from the digitally remastered modules then I put a question mark.

See here:
http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/10240

In pursuing this endeavor I have a few questions:

1. Sundown on Starmist (SoS) list a group of creatures and plants that are common harmless Frontier life forms but they have re-engineered to be harmful but look like the harmless variety. the module provides details on the harmful version; should we not up the harmless version as well for the this catalog?

2. Bugs in the System: the Matrix electronic virus/ List it in the catalog?

3. The Digitally Remastered Volturnus Planet of Mystery module (I couldn't find my original) listed the Bachandra tree as a creature in the new creature file was this really necessary?

other questions to follow as they come up.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!
Comments:

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 8:18am
Illustrations? recycled or redrawn?

If Recycled then there is a project where all of them need to be scanned and then cleaned up in photoshop or gimp2 or similar.

redrawn- i think we'll need multiple artist in on this

we'll end up with some B/W some color do we want one standard? it will almost have to be all black and white.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 8:23am
Mascot for the project:

He never got a stat block and description and only exists as this illustration.
For that reason he could be a mascot in the document?




I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 8:31am
Unless someone makes a case for something different this is how I plan to handle the Endless Quest books

Trouble on Artule seems to be so totally divorced from the sTar frontiers setting I'm planning on ignoring it.

villains of Volturnus has two new creatures that are goofy kids movie fair and I'm going to treat them as such but list them in the monster manual as fictional creatures in a Star Play holographic production  and extrapolate what stats i can.

Captive Planet- cant locate the copy I bought at the moment but I think it has some creatures, at the very least a flying cybodragon IIRC. but even that could be treated as fictional in setting, I have a file of scans of all the artwork in this book and there seems to be several critters.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 8:39am
Villains of volturnus page 112 herd hopper: miniature 2 legged loper that yips excietedly

obviously analog to dogs for the Ul-Mor. Real creature or fiction from star play? note not in Crash on Volturnus.

EDIT: not even sure if I want to list Pongo as the creature is just a personal name given by he kid.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 8:52am
Mutiny on the Eleanor Mores has creatures that are left unnamed ie the PC explorers were suppose to name them. So what should they be named in the manual?

unnamed dog like carnivore: Mahg Mar Darnivore
Unnamed rat like omnivore: Mahg Mar rat
unnamed giant crocadilian: Mahg Mar crocidile
unnamed bipedal carnosaur: Mahg Mar carnosaur


I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 9:07am
Face of the Enemy
Beta section 5 list

Flightless birds and large bipedal carnosaur with only the barest of combat stats.
We'll have to back engineer the creature's sizes based on STA and illustration
Although the carnosaur seems to match the stats in Mutiney for the unnamed bipedal carnosaur

but flightless bird? Mahg Mar Emu?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 9:57am
Janus is a convention module written by someone who knew Traveller well and STar fRotneirs superficially IMO. and therefore not canon to my thinking but I've included the half dozen different creatures in it as semi canon.

The author alternated between calling the sathar- slathar and salthar- it irritated me for some reason.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 10:19am
95 critters in canon but without accounting for whats in captive planet or the referee screen mini module besides the Zuraqqor which were in Dragon mag as well.

How many in a monster manual?

Was looking for my AD&D monster manual and found my copy of Klick Clack a stardrive adventure written by Steve Winter. Haven't cracked it open yet but could do a klikk entry to the MM based off what's in this???? For those who haven't seen it's cover and happen to be fans of the Star Craft game this cover has a real star craft vibe.
glad I found this module but I still dont know how many creatures in a typical monster manual.

but we are talking about 100 canon or canon-ish creatures without looking in the SFman and FE.

So 1 volume for canon creatures and a Fiend Foilo for SFman and FE creatures?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 10:21am
Another important question: races like the sathar, zethra, Notui, Ul-mor etc have 1 or more whole pages on them, do we condense that to a monster manual style listing for elf and dwarf or recreate the whole briefing?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 11:59am
big question: SFman 7 converted the Alternity aliens to star frontiers.

Leave them out or put them in?

If left out should not the Alien franchise Xenomorph be left out as well?
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 1:01pm
Another big question alphabetized list or list creatures by home planet?

some things dont fit anywhere like the vimh or some animals are common to vrusk colonies

maybe Alphabetical listing with a good planetary index but also an appendix of creatures to be found on planet x where all the creatures native to the planet are on the list plus common transplants.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 2, 2019 - 3:52pm
jedion357 wrote:
Illustrations? recycled or redrawn?

If Recycled then there is a project where all of them need to be scanned and then cleaned up in photoshop or gimp2 or similar.

redrawn- i think we'll need multiple artist in on this

we'll end up with some B/W some color do we want one standard? it will almost have to be all black and white.
 

I suppose the options of recycling or redrawing would depend on the quality of the original artwork and wither or not you wish to have some consistancy. Since this is a fan production, we take what we can get.
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 2, 2019 - 3:52pm
jedion357 wrote:
Mascot for the project:

He never got a stat block and description and only exists as this illustration.
For that reason he could be a mascot in the document?




 

A good mascot!
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 2, 2019 - 3:54pm
jedion357 wrote:
Janus is a convention module written by someone who knew Traveller well and STar fRotneirs superficially IMO. and therefore not canon to my thinking but I've included the half dozen different creatures in it as semi canon.

The author alternated between calling the sathar- slathar and salthar- it irritated me for some reason.
 

Well, Laura M. did the rewrite for FE. Didn't she throw those creatures in there?
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 2, 2019 - 3:56pm
jedion357 wrote:
big question: SFman 7 converted the Alternity aliens to star frontiers.

Leave them out or put them in?

If left out should not the Alien franchise Xenomorph be left out as well?
 

Here's one where you have got to wonder about copyright/fair use issues. Perhaps a one-off fan article is good for the magazine, but putting Alien xenomorphs in a larger booklet might not be a good idea.

I liked the Alternity conversions, but then that's another WotC product? Maybe let sleeping dogs lie on that one too.
Joe Cabadas

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 2, 2019 - 3:58pm
jedion357 wrote:
Another big question alphabetized list or list creatures by home planet?

some things dont fit anywhere like the vimh or some animals are common to vrusk colonies

maybe Alphabetical listing with a good planetary index but also an appendix of creatures to be found on planet x where all the creatures native to the planet are on the list plus common transplants.
 

It depends upon how complicated you need to make this. 

Alphabetical order with a planetary index would work for me.
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 4:32pm
JCab747 wrote:
jedion357 wrote:
Mascot for the project:

He never got a stat block and description and only exists as this illustration.
For that reason he could be a mascot in the document?




 

A good mascot!


sigh actually it got used as a creature in the sFman: sand gremlin on Laco. I would have said they were in snow on Pale but I wasn't consulted. At least its a creature on one of my favorite worlds.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 2, 2019 - 4:40pm
JCab747 wrote:
jedion357 wrote:
Janus is a convention module written by someone who knew Traveller well and STar fRotneirs superficially IMO. and therefore not canon to my thinking but I've included the half dozen different creatures in it as semi canon.

The author alternated between calling the sathar- slathar and salthar- it irritated me for some reason.
 

Well, Laura M. did the rewrite for FE. Didn't she throw those creatures in there?


They are semi canon and they should be in any comprehensive volume of canon creatures.I dont object to the creatures per se on their merits just irritated with the author of that module.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!