 September 21, 2009 - 5:30pm | For whatever reason, the Crash on Volturnus module has never really appealed to me. Is there another module designed for starting characters that is set on a populated, high-tech world? I'm simply not good enough with the system (yet) to write such a thing, or I'd do it myself and submit it for community review... but I can't be the only new SFDM to look at Volturnus and think, "Man, I'd really prefer to run something else." Heck, even a lead-in adventure to Volturnus would be a big help. I think it's the whole "everybody starts off on this ship" thing that always bothered me. --Shannon |
 October 3, 2009 - 2:12pm | @Gullwind. The Disco in the Bond book/movie "Thunderball" had such a setup. If a Starliner is going to be used, somebody else will have to do the deck plans. The ship will have to be huge. Given the SF perpendicular deck layout it is going to be a major undertaking for agents to clear; especially if there is a time limit. Does anybody have already drawn Starliner deckplans that could be used?  This is a more than one-person project and is going to take months, as the module will have to be totally re-written.  |
 October 3, 2009 - 3:44pm | An opening in the bottom of a ship that you can operate submersibles from or operate a crane through to salvage something from the seabed. Look up the Glomar Explorer for an example. Also, for anyone who's seen [i]Seaquest[/i], the moon pool's where Darwin hangs out. "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 |
 October 3, 2009 - 4:27pm | If a Starliner is going to be used, somebody else will have to do the deck plans. The ship will have to be huge. Given the SF perpendicular deck layout it is going to be a major undertaking for agents to clear; especially if there is a time limit. Ships don't have to be a long and narrow cylinder. It can be a short, squat cylinder for fewer decks and more lateral space. ;) The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of
the strong. * Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi |
 October 3, 2009 - 7:26pm | Does anybody have already drawn Starliner deckplans that could be used? well as for starliner deck plans - I did the Truane's Star Express in the deck plans project its in a number of PDFs there cause of size restrictions on the file upload and it was like HS17 and Speaking of an adventure on a huge ship- I did find it a pain to transition from map to map but I had printed out post size maps and was using miniatures and I dont recommend that now. I do recommend a time line keyed to game turns; the purpose of this is that I hate static dungeon layouts that only react when a door is opened. Rather than just having rooms with action- have TIME with action. It forces the players to run to that location if they want to deal with that event and doesn't really allow them a clean, static, at their own pace, room by room. There is also an stage trick involving putting a clock on stage for the audience to look at- it gives a sense of urgency and increases tension in the audience- use that with a kitchen timer and set it for x amount of time and everytime the bell dings new events are happenning but at least one time you just reset the timer and dont spring something- talk about making them wonder. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 October 4, 2009 - 3:25am | I'd have to dig out my TS module to see what all would need to be transferred over to a starship. But either way the liner doesn't have to be huge, a HS:6-8 vessel would probably suffice. Once you hit HS:10-12 scale becomes a tricky endeavor for deck plan renderings...use a smaller scale (one square = 1-2 meters) and you end up with a huge unwieldy map, go too lage (one square = 5-10 meters) and there's no room for detail, not to mention a standard 4x6 meter cabin ends up occupying one square. |
October 4, 2009 - 5:58pm | I'd have to dig out my TS module to see what all would need to be transferred over to a starship. But either way the liner doesn't have to be huge, a HS:6-8 vessel would probably suffice. Once you hit HS:10-12 scale becomes a tricky endeavor for deck plan renderings...use a smaller scale (one square = 1-2 meters) and you end up with a huge unwieldy map, go too lage (one square = 5-10 meters) and there's no room for detail, not to mention a standard 4x6 meter cabin ends up occupying one square. Let me know what you come up with. It is kind of pointless to work on such an adventure without a deckplan to work from. If you can come up with a useable ship deckplan, when I get some time I will look at writing an adventure for it. The point of the original module was to make the agents clear this dangerous HUGE SPACE in a limited amount of time: To put pressure on the players. I read, or maybe it was a TV interview I saw, that clearing a large ship at sea is a nightmare. There are literally hundreds of "spaces" that have to be cleared. It takes hours and a huge number of searchers to do it. Taking down a known number of tangos is easier, but still a pain. Even boarding a moving ship is dangerous, if it has to be done without the cooperation of those on board. |
 October 4, 2009 - 7:38pm | If you've never been on a ship, you really can't imagine the number of places there are to hide. The ship's structure consists of wide metal beams every eight feet or so that create visual dead zones. Think of the detention cell block in Star Wars - all over the place. Trying to insure that no one is hiding anywhere on a ship of any size is a massive undertaking, especially for a PC-size group. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
October 5, 2009 - 5:45am | I'd definitely be willing to take a stab at a liner, I've not done one before. Ever. Not even pencil & paper renderings. I can't say how long it will take, I'm about ready to upload my TT-456 Container Ship "antagonist" soon and am in the middle of translating a new Keep on the Borderlands map (yes, the classic B2 D&D module keep) along with a few key buildings within (the Guild House, tavern, and inn). So I'll start jotting down ideas for a liner on pen and paper in the meantime and making a few rough sketches to go by. |
October 5, 2009 - 7:03am | That's why there are Hull Scrappers.
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October 6, 2009 - 12:50pm | I'd definitely be willing to take a stab at a liner, I've not done one before. Ever. Not even pencil & paper renderings. I can't say how long it will take, I'm about ready to upload my TT-456 Container Ship "antagonist" soon and...EDIT... So I'll start jotting down ideas for a liner on pen and paper in the meantime and making a few rough sketches to go by.
Thank You. Looking forward to seeing your work. ...EDIT... am in the middle of translating a new Keep on the Borderlands map (yes, the classic B2 D&D module keep) along with a few key buildings within (the Guild House, tavern, and inn).
I really like this Classic D&D Module. Back in the day...it was usually the first module that our main DM ran new players/characters through. He even ran it for AD&D. We regulars must of gone through it 3 or 4 times. It is great to give brand new players the lead and watch them discover the "magic" of "The Caves of Chaos" all for themselves. I fought my first monster solo - a stirge - in it. At the time I thought it was quite a battle (You are only a "newbie" once). I'll never forget it. |
October 6, 2009 - 1:36pm | SORRY Tube_ee. I've hijacked your thread. SO SORRY.  To return to Tube_ee's original question: I think the whole "Volturnus" series of modules were and are a turn-off to many people playing Star Frontiers. I know that they caused my old gaming group, back in the day, to refuse to play Star Frontiers. Under pressure they did finally play and enjoy the Port Loren mini-adventure in the Basic Book. They would have played another adventure like it, but flat out refused to even consider playing Volturnus. I think that Port Loren Raiders by Shadow Shack would make a good first module. It began in the Basic Book and Shadow Shack has expanded it. I always liked the beginning and was sorry to see that it was not continued with in the official SF modules. It would need to be collected up and the gaps filled in before it could be run by a beginning GM. Shadow Shack is the logical choice to do this - but that is up to him. It is just a suggestion. It could be printed in SF Man or turned into a PDF for download. @Shadow Shack. I hate "volunteering" other people for more work. I hate when other people do it to me. But, I really do not see anybody else who has the knowledge to do this. Again; it is just a suggestion. Please do as you like. |
October 6, 2009 - 6:46pm | No sweat, I have no problem running with a Port Lorens rewrite. I already did it once so there's plenty of material, all I need to do is restructure the NPCs to beginner level opponents instead of "veteran grade" as I rewrote it. Not a big deal at all. Of course the trick will be reformatting it to the "alpha/beta/gamma" SF module section, which shouldn't be a major undertaking either. I'll just throw in the hydra encounter as a layover between the two parts I have the expansion game written in. All in all that would end up with three parts worth of gaming that rewards XP in, and the fourth (unseen as neither game progressed that far) conclussion scenario to wrap it up with. As for the Volturnus modules, every group I played with loved the game. Most of them agreed it would have made for a great motion picture...as such I made Zebulon a focal point of my campaign. Which brings us back to one of the tangent discussions here LOL KotB has been the focal point of my campaign since I acquired the Moldvay boxed set. I'd revamped that keep several times over the years and the one I'm rendering is my fave. I even went so far as to do an expert grade rewrite of the Caves of Chaos which tied in to a B/X rewrite I did with the G series. |
October 6, 2009 - 7:08pm | @Shadow Shack. What do you think about submitting Port Loren Raiders (as an introductory adventure) to SF Man? Would it take up too much space? Put it all in one issue or break it up into several issues (not my first choice)? Would it be better to put it on this website (or Bill's) as a free download and do a write-up on it in SF Man? Or something else entirely? |
October 6, 2009 - 7:32pm | Refer to: Raiders of Port Loren. So it begins... I don't know exactly how much space this will consume. Considering it could potentially end up as a full 32 page module format, it might be a bit much for SF-Man unless the SFM staff are willing to do a special "super-sized" issue to contain it in one fell swoop. We'll see as it progresses, I'll take a swipe at it regularly to get it done. |
 October 6, 2009 - 8:01pm | If you want to write it up, I'd be willing to do layout and we could make a full up stand alone module out of it. Or we could publish it by sections in the magazine as well. 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 |
October 6, 2009 - 8:29pm | Getting back to the original post, there was a PBEM that I read that started out with the players getting briefed for the mission. It allowed for the players to get to know each other and set up the start of the action on the Serena Dawn quite nicely. Here's the link to the PBEM: www.blacklagoon.net/starfront/ They got up to the Ruins of Volkos before the game ended, as I recall. "Rome didn't build an empire by having meetings. They did it by killing those who stood in their way." |
October 6, 2009 - 8:39pm | Sounds good. I know nothing on formatting, so I'll just keep cracking on it in the document section over at the FOC project and we'll see what can be done from there. |
October 6, 2009 - 9:06pm | @Terl - Good idea about a layout. If we do publish this a common layout for each mini-module would be awesome! My opinion is we publish this in SFMAN and gear the entire issue around the module. Make it a community project.
Optional Ideas for SFMAN
Final Note If we publish this in SFMAN it will reach a larger audience. Optionally we could use it as a springboard for openRPG. Ideas for publishing Special Editions of SFMAN are welcome. (I still think we need to do an issue of all Equipment....) OFM, made by Old Farts for Old Farts.  |
October 8, 2009 - 8:01pm | found this flow chart for espionage games- thought it might be of interest to anyone working on converting Top Secret modules for SF http://jrients.blogspot.com/2006/10/suddenly-espionage.html I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 14, 2009 - 11:13pm | PGC Breach portion is complete! (see the Gamma Section) Mostly anyways...I need to whip up a monorail terminal map for that possibility but otherwise that portion is done. Feedback appreciated. |
