 December 30, 2011 - 3:59pm | Timelines seem to be the hardest thing to gain consensus on in a forum like this. However collaboration makes for a better product. So with reference to the timeline in issue 16. And the as yet published Rim timeline taking Rim history up through contact with the UPF and the conclusion of SW1. I'm opening the floor for input on the next instalment of my history project. Time in consideration is between SW1 AND SW2. 2nd SW will get a stand alone treatment. Major themes will be rise of Mega corps, corporate war, discovery of some of the new systems on the map - all the Rim systems come into Frontier astro logs with formal treaty between UPF and Rim. But there are a number of systems in the region of the classic AD map that turn up on the Zebs map, these aught to be dated. Introduction of the assault scout aught to be dated. Introduction of star law and MSO happens in this time.etc. ideas? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 30, 2011 - 4:58pm | The thing that comes to mind immediately is that the initial exploration of the route to Zebulon should logically happen fairly soon after the war. Once the Frontier has had a chance to catch its breath and formed the UPF, there would be a push to look in the direction the Sathar came from. Pouring over the fragmentary archives left on Pale, it is determined that the sathar ships seemed to come from a specific star system. The route to this system (i.e. Zebulon) is then explored. However, there are some issues with that. The SF0 module says that when the adventure begins, the route had recently been opened up by the government of Truane's Star (within approximately the last year). If this initial expoloration is the same one mentioned in the module, it puts the module just shortly after the end of the war . I don't like this as I don't think the sathar are really ready at that point to mount a large strike against Volturnus. I actually like to have the Volturnus series final battle be the start of the Second Sathar War. Personally, I'd probably do it like this.
Anyway, that's some possible ideas I have on that topic. 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 |
December 30, 2011 - 6:09pm | Tom , you touch on a major sticking point that I spent a lot of time wrestling with. One problem is with the CFM providing food and relief after SW1 and winning a special charter from the UPF (Zebs material) it was obvious that the CFM new jump routes through Zebulon to Truane's Star. This is a major complication unless you just delete the Rim. Perhaps I should post a document in the Zebs Guide expanded project that spills the beans on the Zebs submission coming in 18 as it has the Rim timeline and includes the conclusions of the SW1 and events that synch the Rim and CFM with UPF history. Your point about the sathar not having a task force ready so soon after SW1 is well taken. And in light of the fact that SW1 is in reality SW3 for the Rim it carries more weight. However, if its only a task force it would make sense that a Space Fleet and militia joint task force could move from Pale and take them on. Still you idea that the Volturnus campaign is the trigger for SW2 is an intriguing idea but my gut says its too late in history. Since the full width and breadth of sathar space is not detailed we perhaps can get away with a sathar move on Volturnus to seize this important bridge head before the two political entities that it connects link up and join forces which would represent a major set back for the worms. Its a very tricky thing to justify everything in canon- what a mess TSR handed us. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 30, 2011 - 6:53pm | Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but as far as "...discovery of some of the new systems on the map...", if you want to include the "new" systems I'm detailing for my adventure/sourcebook I can send along detailed info (some of it is posted here https://sites.google.com/site/stariumx/star-system-n9x2x20). Basically the timeline (in Zebulon's Guide dates) is: 67fy - jump point at Dixon's Star discovered to a system 18ly away (it's only 4-5 squares to the left of Dixon's Star on the 2d map, but at +20ly Z-coordate it's a long jump). 69fy - first long range exploration vessel is dispatched. A very rich and habitable star system is discovered. 70-90fy - the planet is surveyed in secret by corporate interests & colonized during the 2nd Sathar War in secret. 105fy - First Contact with the Tsa'Qa'Mae, a species of wanderers stranded at the nearby binary star system. |
December 30, 2011 - 9:03pm | no I'm thinking of the systems like Pan Gal and New STreel, Solar Minor and Solar major and such. things that are quantatively already part of the canon but not in the AD map. Basically I'd like to be able to represent the Frontier at different points in history with known jump routes and maps of inhabited planets. I dont want to show players a zebs map and have to say, now since we're playing in this era of history this system is not discovered yet but that one is. Rather I'd like a map that is accurate and reflects the state of the Frontier as it is at the time that I'm running the game. EDIT: Perhaps I should specify: my timeline is not going to be a creative work where I introduce Borg just becasue I like them but rather a source book type timeline for the Frontier. I cant use Zebs because its buggered. The creative work comes in in this project in justifying the canon information. Some things will have to be changed but I'll work to make things fits. Pet peeves for me in Zebs: planets discovered in orders that dont make sense if you're using void jump routes. conflicting dates obviously. and a few other bugaboos. Concerning new races: I wont generally write in SFman races (though I did since the humma were suppose to have had a long history of inter species war) most SFman races can be treated as optional and easily fit in if a GM wants them- for instance the vimh (that rat like race in issue 5) is written as a technically illiterate race scavenging on the edges of society and now one really knows where they come from, they are largely irrelevant to the timeline and dont need to be worked in. Canon races from Dragon mag: most are not written to be a major impact on the setting and can be ignored thus allowing GMs to use them that want them. Suarians, as written aught to be a major impact on the Frontier, being technologically advanced and burned out of their homeworld by the sathar they will make dedicated warriors against the worms. Zethra can be ignored. Zuraquor aught to be included as a sathar ally, races from modules aught to be inlcuded. S'sessu are a special case and lean toward not including them, leaving them for the GM who wants them to work them in. Even with all the races I intend to include we still get a crouded sector with too many sapient races. Almost by default we get a star warzy like setting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 31, 2011 - 7:59am | Things to consider on timeline. Races do not need to be included unless it affects the entire Frontier. IE when that race discovered the other races or when the RIM forces jioned the Second Sathar War. Most events when dealing with the Frontier as a whole would not be race specific. Planets would not be discovered in jump order for a variety of reasons. 1) Some would be accidental discovery. 2) Planets would normally be found by the way current scientists do: using mathematical means to determine if a system might contain a habitable planet. They would then explore the higher probability ones first and WOW there wasn't a good planet in the 90% system but the 40% system did have one. 3) Money money money just because you think or know a system may have a good planet in it does not mean you can immediately run out and explore that system. 4) Secrets for many reasons a system may be found but no one is told about it because the government or megacorp feels the need to hide the discovery of that system. We could go on but really to expect planets to be discovered in nice neat rows, not realistic. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 31, 2011 - 9:16am | @ rattraveller: I hear you but if say Truane's Star was discovered before Dixon's Star then there would exist jump routes from Cassidine or Prengular to get there and these are not on the map. Logically Dixon's Star has to be discovered first, and its jump route. That is not to say that Laco must be colonized before Pale, on the contrary I believe its colonized after Pale. Order of discovery and order of colonization are two different thing. I intend to have maps for the sector set at different times in the time line because if you are running a sandbox game players will want to know where they can go. Later periods in history have greater numbers of jump routes. For instance I consider the AD map the Vallid map at the time of SW1. After the Volturnus campaign and a formal treaty with the Rim suddenly the map should have the AD jump routes plus all those in the Rim. So that would be map at the beginning of the Age of Adventure while the Zebs map would be the map for the end of the age of adventure or the beginning of SW2. Ebony Eyes system should also get added. Consequently all of the "corporate" systems need to be charted and or colonized during the period between the two wars. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 31, 2011 - 10:00am | Just located my handwritten notes on the timeline from a slow Saturday at work: Time Period under discussion here is approximately 80 GST years (that is according to the Zebs timeline and I dont see any reason to not go with that) The Major talking points in the timeline are: (in no particular order) 1. Mega corps behaving badly: they gain too much influence in the UPF and wage war with each other when it suits them. PGC is massively dominant in the early decades and maintains powerful influence upto the inception of SW2. Corporate seizure and control of planets and systems: New Streel, PGC, etc. 2. Star Law organized because of the discovery of Sathar Agents. their mandate is to hunt them down, and catch interstellar criminals like pirates. (more like Star Law goes after fences disposing of stolen property for pirates- pirates caught in the act of piracy could just as easily be spaced without the benefit of vac suit by Space Fleet or a militia. Latter Star Law's mandate will get expanded to include policing mega corp conflicts. 3. Blue Plague and the organization of the MSO 4. Dramune Wars- inter planetary conflict by two members of the Council of Worlds. 5. Volturnus Campaign- largely about the discovery of a sathar task force seeking to seize and fortify a forward base of operation close to the Frontier. Minor notes in that is the primitive races, decimated eorna, and corporations sharpening the knives to carve up the prize that is Volturnus even while the Republic of Pale has designs on becoming a interstellar empire by colonizing Volturnus itself. 6. Mechanon issues- revolt and mirgration are actually spaced out. Star Law ends up playing an important role. The "Story" for this 80 period of history is "The Testing of the UPF" (there may be a better way to state that but for now that is the WIP theme statement) Almost all of the above talking points represent a test of the UPF government and its response, often after the fact, to the crisis. Some responses will be failures. For instance the fact that 3 Dramune Wars occur could be viewed as a failure in diplomacy. The fact that Laco's War lasts a decade can be viewed as a failure in that the government didn't step in and halt it. Mega Corps already weild massive influence and suddenly they begin to set up planets that join the council of worlds and they gain even further influence by having seats directly on the council and the inhabitants of those worlds get no self determination. This becomes a challenge to the UPF because if the trend continues it will be the United Corporate Federation. So I intend to craft the story of the history as the testing of the UPF with it failing some along the way but after 80s of supposed peace no one believes the sathar are coming back funding for the Fleet is at an all time low, and some people are openly wondering if the UPF is rellevant or if it will last to Age 100 at all. The Greatest test of the UPF will come with SW2. SW2 will be a separate submission. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
