 September 19, 2009 - 7:08pm | Once upon a time in a Galaxy very very close there evolved a race called humans who, for whatever reason (war, pollution, quest for whatever) they found it needful to leave the cradle of their nativity. In launching their colony expedition they thought it wise to build an ark to preserve the genetic diversity of their homeworld. Except that unlike Noah they didn't load them in 2X2 (or by 7s either) but rather saved numerous genetic samples to be recreated, when needed from large vats of amino acids and birthed from "test tubes". It was a huge undertaking and involved nearly every species of large animal, 10000s of insects, plants, fish and birds. It represents the genetic heritage of Earth. Fast forward centuries to the modern Frontier. Humans arrived in the Frontier and settled it widely but the Ark did not arrive. Lost but not forgotten. Clues start popping up. Malthar's menagerie on Outer Reach suddenly has a bengal tiger. Cocaine and Canabis begin circulating in the Frontier. Someone's released a species of snake on Hentz that's devestating population of native birds. What about the sathar? 1. they already have genetic material and/or the Ark and have begun deploying new attack constructs based off lions and tigers and bears, oh my! 2. As the knowledge of the Arks re-emergence begins to leak; Sathar agents scramble to locate it for their masters. Who all's looking for it? 1. the greedy soulless mega corps 2. the government of the first human colony in the Frontier (they consider it their genetic heritage) 3. Star Law- just because 4. every two bit down on their luck treasure hunter 5. well funded treasure hunters 6. The MSO- medical services org (you know the one that found the cure for the blue plague) they would love to have access to Earth's plants for the medicinal qualities 7. Pirates- why not? its valuable. 8. Academics for its scientific value. How to use this: 1. PCs are the hired hands representing one of the above groups 2. Each PC is from a different one of the above groups but they're all working on the search team 3. PCs from a military and are tasked with locating the and rescueing the Ark from the sathar or destroy it. Twist: 1.The sathar didn't get thier terran based genetic material from the Ark but from another source and the ark is still out their (this could hold true for which ever way the adventure is written) 2. the Ark is empty 3. Evidence was faked to just make money 4. they wont find the Ark but rather the point of its origin. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 September 19, 2009 - 8:12pm | As usual, Jedi, an excellent idea. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 September 19, 2009 - 8:37pm | What if the Ark contained a beat of copy of popular 1980's RPG's. One of them is Star Frontiers by TSR? ....what if..... |
September 19, 2009 - 11:13pm | Then conspiracy theorists throughout the Frontier will become digustingly rich.... "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 September 20, 2009 - 3:49am | Obviously the sathar would be in possession of it. The sathar are widely known to be collectors and purveyors of artifacts and relics concerning core four racial heritage. And beware the sathar agent Belloq. There is nothing you can possess which he cannot take away. What could briefly be yours can quickly become his. He's dastardly enough to ensure that you could potentially become a permanent addition to your archaeological find. Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something. |
September 20, 2009 - 6:30am | @ Shadow:  @will I sort of envisioned a colony fleet like in the novel Colony Fleet(excellent read BTW) and other ships having knowledge stored away so the loss of any one ship doesn't imperil the expedition to the point of reiventing the wheel- but the nature of the storage of the genetic material/code meant the all the eggs went into one basket: the ark. It also begs the question: why did the ark go astray? 1. the director of the project to collect all genetic material was bit bat house nuts and sabotaged the ark in a dream of creating a new earth free of other human influence (except his of course) because humans just muck everything up and he has a vision of a new Eden. under this twist the new Eden and Ark are out there but New Eden is a dangerous place to visit because the "professor" has survived all this time by uploading his personality and memories to the ark's computer core (more of an AI than a robot brain and can infect other computer systems- maybe he's the intelligence now directing sathar civilization-why they so pathologically attack other races and could explain their penchant for tinkering with genetics). 2. Tetrachs- since the Frontier is the core four and tetrach means rule of 4 maybe there was some X-files ish reason they wanted to bring the core four together. 3. dum luck- it just happened though this isn't as exciting as the other options 4. Battle damage: Earth had become a facist state ruled by tree huggers worshipping the enviroment at the expense of human rights and freedoms (forced sterilization and euthanasia). a colony expedition was concieved by individuals on luna, mars and the Jupiter Colony Coalition. The ark was originally a library on earth of all genetic code (except human- cause their vermin) The colony organizers realized they'd need a copy of the Library and go about that at clandestine means. The idea of people taking copies of the genetic heritage of earth to other planets deeply offends Benito Musotreelini and the jack booted thugs are sent to subjugate the outer planets and moons. The colony fleet barely escapes the system. Twist: good old uncle benito sends out SS (System Security) frigates with troops in cold sleep to track down the fleeing colony fleet. (add the SS to the list of people looking for the ark). I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
September 20, 2009 - 8:53am | @will I sort of envisioned a colony fleet like in the novel Colony Fleet(excellent read BTW) and other ships having knowledge stored away so the loss of any one ship doesn't imperil the expedition to the point of reiventing the wheel- but the nature of the storage of the genetic material/code meant the all the eggs went into one basket: the ark. Then, it would stand to reason that each colony ship would have its own ark, wouldn't it? [quoter=Jedi]It also begs the question: why did the ark go astray? 1. the director of the project to collect all genetic material was bit bat house nuts and sabotaged the ark in a dream of creating a new earth free of other human influence (except his of course) because humans just muck everything up and he has a vision of a new Eden. under this twist the new Eden and Ark are out there but New Eden is a dangerous place to visit because the "professor" has survived all this time by uploading his personality and memories to the ark's computer core (more of an AI than a robot brain and can infect other computer systems- maybe he's the intelligence now directing sathar civilization-why they so pathologically attack other races and could explain their penchant for tinkering with genetics). The Planet of Doctor Moreau storyline. Why settle for a non-mobile AI setting, when the doc could make himself an android body with the same properties? This could tie in with the Satharmegeddon campaign you were discussing in another thread. Alternatively, the architect behind the ark's disappearance could be an AI to begin with, either acting on someone else's orders to "sabotage the mission to preserve our heritage from destructive human elements and create the New Eden free of human taint{ala Hal}," or acting on its own initiative to re-create a more perfect version of the State outlined in #4 below, perfect being defined in its warped image{ala Pierce or Kendy the Checker from Larry Niven's novels} 2. Tetrachs- since the Frontier is the core four and tetrach means rule of 4 maybe there was some X-files ish reason they wanted to bring the core four together. Could be. Possibly the ark has the genetic heritage of all four races, assuming the Core Four were a confederation of peoples who had to re-settle for some reason or another. 3. dum luck- it just happened though this isn't as exciting as the other options. The most likely reason, tho it would be a bit of an anticlimax to your players, unless the GM made the present-day chase, as opposed to the past calamity, the focus of his campaign. 4. Battle damage: Earth had become a facist state ruled by tree huggers worshipping the enviroment at the expense of human rights and freedoms (forced sterilization and euthanasia). a colony expedition was concieved by individuals on luna, mars and the Jupiter Colony Coalition. The ark was originally a library on earth of all genetic code (except human- cause their vermin) The colony organizers realized they'd need a copy of the Library and go about that at clandestine means. The idea of people taking copies of the genetic heritage of earth to other planets deeply offends Benito Musotreelini and the jack booted thugs are sent to subjugate the outer planets and moons. The colony fleet barely escapes the system. Twist: good old uncle benito sends out SS (System Security) frigates with troops in cold sleep to track down the fleeing colony fleet. (add the SS to the list of people looking for the ark). Not Alois Shicklebaum?! Seriously, this could work in reverse, sort of. What if the Saint leadership got it in their pointed heads to create a genetic archive of, say, all the exotic/dangerous animals(Bengal tigers, Doberman pinschers, pit bulls, wharf rats, etc.)that people of this particular lunatic bent think make excellent pet or deserve more rights than the people the leaders are treating like dogs, and decided to use that genetic archive to re-create them on a garden world they've set aside as a preserve for their pets/friends to roam around free(as in Born Free), as Earth(and any other colony worlds)are now too enviromentally f*ked up to support even unassisted Human habitation. The ark is assembled under the tightest security, compiled from the genetic data of the few pets/friends left alive on the planet(or even from fossil records), attracting the attention of any resistance groups/enemy nations(possibly even the UPF), who then hit the ship transporting the ark and the clone masters needed to resurrect those endangered/extinct species, and it becomes lost forever, as the transport is forced to crash on some godforsaken rock. Of course, the survivors of that mission decide to continue the project anyway, and being eco-fascist hypocrites, they really could give a toss about the enviroment or endangered species, as these are just excuses for the hatred they harbor towards all life, and a cover for their nihilistic viewpoint, tho the samples they saved prove to be the basis for the creation of attack monsters(including possibly even the Sathar)which they use to cleanse all life from every corner of the space they can reach. "You're everything that's base in humanity," Cochrane continued. "Drawing up strict, senseless rules for the sole reason of putting you at the top and excluding anyone you say doesn't belong or fit in, for no other reason than just because you say so." —Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stephens, Federation |
 September 24, 2009 - 7:30pm | Cool concept overall, but it does sound a bit like Sid Meiers Alpha Centauri. I read a sci-fi short story decades ago (80's, I think), can't remember what it was called, but it involved a priest questioning his faith and a mission which discovered in the remains of a star system after going nova/super nova. Among the burnt out husks of planets, the mission finds what appears to have been the outermost planet had some sort of construction on it. It must have been massive, because even after the nova a candle's height of the structure remained. Upon exploration, the crew discover that massive underground chambers had been built and filled with the cultural herritage of a race that was indigenous to the system, but doomed to extinction due to their star's fate. They built this ark so others would learn of them. Story was good ... I could find the title and author if anyone is interested. Possible twists... The race stored their racial herritage in this megavault, but the race itself constructed STL colony ships to flee with as many of their race as possible. If they developed Freeze Field or stasis technology, perhaps many remained on the burnt out vault world, protected but robotic servitors and powered by near limitless power supplies (superconductor loops charged from solar panels which collected every bit of possible energy during their star's collapse) coupled with numerous atomic reactors (Fission/fusion) and and geothermic plants. Perhaps the robotic minions will be very violent and numerous. Perhaps these beings are not as peaceful as those described in the story, but a lost malevolent race whose star was destroyed by another, more advanced race in retaliation ... Perhaps the STL colony ships were meant to set up a new homeworld by force, and return to retrieve their brethren and herritage. |
