 October 1, 2009 - 8:25am | I've always felt compelled to explain why the PCs are being sent to Volturnus as it seems to not make sense on the surface. It you read the discriptions of the previous team and compare their capabilities to the starting PCs it stands out that the starting PCs are barely capable of pouring piss out of a boot with instructions written on the heal. People with only 2 skills a piece sent to a dangerous environment where a more capable team already disappeared? I've already hash and rehashed the conspiracy angle on this in other threads making the the PCs patsies who aren't suppose to succeed. But while driving last night it occured to me that there is another way to do this. The PCs are the crew of the Serrena Dawn and the real team has there lifeboat shot out of space. It makes more sense that the starting PCs would be tramp freighter crew than an advanced scientific survey team. The way to run the adventure is to have a full deck plan of the serrena dawn and run it from the pirates shooting out the engines and boarding. with a traitor among the crew. make it a desparate fighting retreat toward some method of escape while a group of 20 pirates sweep the ship deck by deck. Add a locator beacon in each escape pod and life boat to allow the PC's to link up (the pirates will mount a search but the PCs have about 2-3 days before they see a jetcopter). make the desert less a desparate survival and more a escape and evade. The PCs motivation for running this adventure is to survive and get off the planet and maybe get even with the pirates for blowing up their ship (or did they blow the Dawn? Maybe its recoverable?) The 3rd module would be run with the Col. Jamison npc recruiting them to be his special ops team for the coming battle because there is no one else who can do it. or change that to Land Fleet arrives and the Pale militia and space fleet mount a desparate fight to save the planet and tell the civilians (the PCs) to sit tight and we'll get you out if we win the battle. But the PCs discover info for the possible location of the Star Devils secret hideout and his personal ship and during a massive land and space battle try to effect their own bug out. If you go with the 3rd module as written its ordinary people rising to the occassion to become heros who save the planet. If you go with the civillians just trying to survive in the midist of a collossal battle it just ordinary people trying to just get by. taking down the star devil himself is heroic but not going to be something they'd want to brag about. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 July 26, 2016 - 8:41pm | Sorry but Daleks remind me too much of those office finger condoms... |
 July 26, 2016 - 9:19pm | You're overlooking the obvious: |
July 26, 2016 - 10:08pm | Cylons --- particularly the newer models --- seem far more Sathar-ish than Eorna-ish. |
July 27, 2016 - 7:28am | Go back and look at the illos in the modules |
 July 27, 2016 - 10:44am | Go back and look at the illos in the modules You do have a point... Though some of the module illustrations aren't the greatest.  And Zebs used this one for them. Joe Cabadas |
July 27, 2016 - 1:22pm | That's supposed to be a "friendly image" PR poster type deal, not what they really look like. |
July 27, 2016 - 2:50pm | That's supposed to be a "friendly image" PR poster type deal, not what they really look like. Peace Frontier Being! Joe Cabadas |
 August 14, 2016 - 2:39pm | jedion 357 said: "It you read the discriptions of the previous team and compare their capabilities to the starting PCs it stands out that the starting PCs are barely capable of pouring piss out of a boot with instructions written on the heal." Agreed. On the other hand, the previous team members seem pretty underpowered for who they are supposed to be, too. For one thing, they don't have that many skills, either - especially not the human or the yazirian. Jameson has "22 years service Truane's Star military forces, combat veteran, Truane's Star Medal of Valor, commander two previous exploration missions," but the only skill listed for him is Computer 4. No weapon skill of any kind, for a career military type like this? For another, PCs who do exceptionally well could earn enough XP in the series to be more or less equivalent in skill to those two previous team members. If my skimming and arithmetic are not way off, a PC who survived the entire module series would earn between 14 and 43 XP. At the upper end, that's enough to buy the same one skill that Jameson has, right? (Tech PSA Level 4: 4+8+12+16 = 40) Or am I missing something? |
 August 14, 2016 - 5:46pm | Other than the range of possible XP being 17-51, I don't think you missed much. I agree that the original survey team are a little under powered as presented. I just always assumed it was their most relevant skill, not all the skills, that were listed. Since the original survey team don't really play any part in the adventure (except to die) I never really worried about it or even gave it much thought. They are mainly window dressing and not relevant except as story points. 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 |
