 February 6, 2012 - 1:48pm | In D&D 4.0 there are templates in the DMG2 book to change up standard monsters so the DM can throw a curve ball at the players. Tamplates can be anything: lich, vampire etc (undead were popular) and you just take a regular creature and apply the template with its new abilities and unleash unexpected badness ont he PCs. For instance you could take a dragon and apply the lich template. I let the starting characters find a note and a treasure map from a dead highwayman/rogue and in the note he knew he was dying from poison and tells who ever finds him they are welcome to his goods and hidden treasure if they bury his body or else he will come back an haunt them. PCs looted the cave hideout took the map and left the body. So I merged the human rogue with the terrifying haunt and began to have the haunt turn up at night. It didn't take long for the players to figure out they should have buried the body. Anyway I was thinking about whether we could use cybernetic templates add to any creature or sapient. We already have a slave bot detailed in the Volturnus modules but what if that was just something the sathar do to any creature they find. What if the cybo dragon modifications are just something they do to any large creature they find? Each template would have a name and a series of stat changes and possible new abilities that it adds to the creature or sapient. for example the Slave Bot template could be -10 to RS/DEX; +10 STR/STA and we could add in special borg like optics say IR imaging or something plus slave bots never suffer pain penalties for 1/2 STA. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 February 6, 2012 - 2:52pm | This sounds like a great idea to me! Would be nice to have it 'standardized' so that GM's could just apply it to whatever they wanted. After all, a remote sathar outpost might have a need for cybernetic shock troops but may not have the resources (or supply lines) in place to get them from 'back home'. Therefore, they may well simply make them on location as needed. Works for me. I don't have to outrun that nasty beast my friend...I just have to outrun you!  |
February 6, 2012 - 3:20pm | Later tonight I'll pull up the listing for the slave bot and look it over. We can treat the old slave bot as old tech and the new template can be upgraded new tech. Tempted to have a Borg like arm replacement template or perhaps just make the arm replacement combined with the regular slave bot hardware could be a shock troop template. Or call it a shock bot and give it some form of shocking weaponry. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 6, 2012 - 7:12pm | the slave bot has most of its brain removed and replaced with cybernetic implant and it is used to guard installations like the obelisk on Volturnus. the slave bot is controlled by a disembodied sathar brain kept in a special solution. SF-2 specifically states these are prisoners and that spares are kept in cryo storage. Creature stats only use the ability scores for STA and RS and I bring that up to say that I think that an invasive proceedure like this should change stats but its obvious that with most of the brain removed that the slave bot's former LOG and INS pretty much drop to 0 and if LOG is actually called for then it would be the LOG of the sathar brain. So as a general guideline I think that with this sort of proceedure that there should be a drop in RS and consequently IM, if for no other reason than transmission lag to the controlling brain or that any sort of cybernet sathar zombie really ought to be a little slow Also I think victims of this sort of proceedure ought to get a STA boost since the can be driven hard and pain centers are probably over-ridden. So making a slave bot of any sapient drops INS/LOG to 10 or 15 if any of the cognitive centers were left in tact and PER/LDR are dropped to 0. RS/DEX are penalized by -10, -15, or -20? while STR/STA get a bonus of the same size as the penalty for RS/DEX. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 6, 2012 - 7:34pm | Shock Bot With all the reasoning for stat changes discussed above being vallid the Shock Bot has not been totally lobotomized since it needs to be semi autonomous. so INS/LOG is dropped 20. RS/DEX drops 10. STR/STA picks up 15. one hand is removed and replaced with an electrostunner (which is 4d10 or stun and maximum range is medium- 15 meters) this makes him an ideal shock trooper that can hit enemy troops hard with the 4d10 or take prisoners with the stun. I had to reduce the temptation to load him up with more tech since the sathar often send their expendable sathar troops into battle with nothing more than a laser rifle and two clips. Though I wanted to remove an eye and give him some sort of optics upgrade like the borg just for fun might just do that anyway. A shock bot is an expendable shock troop, typically thrown against to enemies to see what breaks and followed up closely with actual sathar troopers and or attack monsters. Note: with the boost to STR they should have a harder hitting punch if needed for melee. Also need to determine the amount of power that's available for the weapon 20 or 40 SEU? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 February 7, 2012 - 4:39am | OK while I haven't read everything here but I must state this needs to be used EXTREMELY carefully. The whole template thing is one of the ways D&D went out of control and lost alot of players. Ever try and GM a party where you had to have 20 books just to look up all the racial abilities, class abilities, level abilities, feats and master feats not to mention template particulars and more for the party members? OK Jed so your character is a 8th level magic user, 2nd level fighter, 2nd level master class night ranger, dwarf slash half dragon with the undead and flying templates added on which gives you six different bonuses to this roll. Ah Jed you do realize you are just ordering a drink from the bar wench right? Keeping things fairly simple is one of the appeals to old school gaming. Now while the slave bot template is useful and does not make the NPC a Legion of Gold (Gamma World) one size fits all trooper we are talking about cannon fodder troops who do not need as much in the way of stats as say the Red Devil pirates in the Volturnus series. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
February 7, 2012 - 6:22am | I'm not saying we should clone D&D 4. O but simply rip off a good idea. If we did turn SF into 4.0, personally I'd quit. I rather doubt that there are any other templates we could add to SF but a mostly or semi lobotomized cybernetic zombie does seem appropriate. Pick a humanoid or a medium sized or larger creature and have the sathar add their cybernetic controls and you have a slightly different challenge depending on any capabilities the humanoid or creature had. Just now this capability is under sathar control. I may be overthinking this and should just write up the shock troop as a new creature since SF isn't really built on everything having its own powers and abilities. Yet if the sathar had a yazirian slave bot they'd have a minion that could glide and if it was a vrusk then it'd be an installation guard that was ambidextrous and well able to fire two pistols at a time, if it was a sand shark it would be a lurking minion that attacks from its burrow with hard cover on the first round of combat. I'm kind of on the fence about this. Create a template or just write a new creature and template be damned. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 February 7, 2012 - 5:41pm | D&D wasn't the first to use templates. In fact, they were pretty late in the game. Many other games already used templates. They are a useful tool. You just have to balance them appropriately for your party. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
February 8, 2012 - 9:02pm | It may be a matter of degrees. The D&D 3.5 each race had so many different abilities and than class feats thrown in made templates just more complications. SF races have few statistical differences and much more role playing differences. Really an elf and a human aren't that different but Human, Vrusk, Yazirian and Dralasite are definitely different. For that reason I don't see general templates working but a template for each race might. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
February 9, 2012 - 6:28am | It may be a matter of degrees. The D&D 3.5 each race had so many different abilities and than class feats thrown in made templates just more complications.
The multiplicity of feats is an attempt to fix an underlying basic problem with that system. And after four years of Monday nights playing it I came to the conclusion that they didn't really fix it enough. Great observation about the differences in SF races though I think some of my Monday night buddies would argue with you over role play differences in fantasy races. The only real differences between and character class in 3.5 is your choice of race and feats and the feats rarely do more than add a plus one here and there. Ooooohhh, so exciting feat x just gave me a new plus in situation y but the change in level means all the DCs change so there is no real gain its all a tightly controlled power curve and there s no real climax for you with the character except, "We're going to play these characters to 20ththe level except that takes 2.5 years of repetitive dice rolling every Monday night and sometimes you just want to take that golf ball sized twenty sided die and swallow it to choke yourself out of the boring freaking misery that is 3.5 all freaking night long combat. Let alone screaming at the player playing a spell caster that must reconsult the book for the description to a spell that he has consulted fifty other Monday nights this year. Whoops am I ranting? D&D 3.5 sucks! But back to templates I think we could use a sathar cybernetic template, that is a set of changes that you apply to any creature the worms wish to make into a cybernetic minion. The creature retains physical or racial capabilities except stuff like comprehension which would really require cognitive functioning that would be suppressed.SF races have few statistical differences and much more role playing differences. Really an elf and a human aren't that different but Human, Vrusk, Yazirian and Dralasite are definitely different. For that reason I don't see general templates working but a template for each race might. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 9, 2012 - 7:18am | OK (and stepping back slowly, no sudden movements, don't make eye contact, keep moving) Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
February 9, 2012 - 11:07am | It may be a matter of degrees. The D&D 3.5 each race had so many different abilities and than class feats thrown in made templates just more complications.
The multiplicity of feats is an attempt to fix an underlying basic problem with that system. And after four years of Monday nights playing it I came to the conclusion that they didn't really fix it enough. Great observation about the differences in SF races though I think some of my Monday night buddies would argue with you over role play differences in fantasy races. The only real differences between and character class in 3.5 is your choice of race and feats and the feats rarely do more than add a plus one here and there. Ooooohhh, so exciting feat x just gave me a new plus in situation y but the change in level means all the DCs change so there is no real gain its all a tightly controlled power curve and there s no real climax for you with the character except, "We're going to play these characters to 20ththe level except that takes 2.5 years of repetitive dice rolling every Monday night and sometimes you just want to take that golf ball sized twenty sided die and swallow it to choke yourself out of the boring freaking misery that is 3.5 all freaking night long combat. Let alone screaming at the player playing a spell caster that must reconsult the book for the description to a spell that he has consulted fifty other Monday nights this year. Whoops am I ranting? D&D 3.5 sucks! But back to templates I think we could use a sathar cybernetic template, that is a set of changes that you apply to any creature the worms wish to make into a cybernetic minion. The creature retains physical or racial capabilities except stuff like comprehension which would really require cognitive functioning that would be suppressed.SF races have few statistical differences and much more role playing differences. Really an elf and a human aren't that different but Human, Vrusk, Yazirian and Dralasite are definitely different. For that reason I don't see general templates working but a template for each race might. Like. Thumbs up. +1...whatever. I concur. Templates only work if they provide the whole suite. They're a way of cutting through all the crap. There's still crap that can be cut through in a simple game like Star Frontiers, but I think the purpose a template would serve in Star Frontiers is to provide things that aren't really available. Technically, you can toss anything you want into a template. You don't have to use the preexisting devices within the game. You simply create a bunch of devices that could work for that template, include them in the template and there you go, something you can apply to any race or skill set. In fact, you could have profession templates that outline the skills, devices and other assets for various tiers within the profession. Or you could, as jedion started with, do various cybernetics templates (packages). I see value in this beyond simply culling rules. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
February 10, 2012 - 1:59am | How about this. Robotic tool glove template---A robotic/mechanical glove which can adapt itself to any races' hand that when put on provides the character with all the tools available in the basic tool kit. While simple grasping of items is possible no fine motor skills such as firing a weapon can be done. Takes one round to put on or take off. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
February 10, 2012 - 5:30am | That's just a single device. A template would provide multiple devices and skills that provide a set suite to attach to basic newly rolled character stats of a chosen race. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
February 10, 2012 - 5:59am | That's just a single device. A template would provide multiple devices and skills that provide a set suite to attach to basic newly rolled character stats of a chosen race.
Yes but its along the lines of what we were thinking and we're always looking for new items for the zine. Though IIRC the tech kit is industrial tools like a hammer, perhaps the robcom kit is a better fit. Or a Med glove that generates a sterile field and has a laser scalpel, a hypo spray, wound caughterizer, etc.. this is a usable idea just have to play with it a little.I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 10, 2012 - 6:11am | Seems that RatT is thinking of benign things a PC may do to himself. What about a weird alien artifact that's organic in nature that once you put your hand in it bonds to you/grows into you. Can't be removed by STD surgery. It confers some weird powers but over time the PC's hair falls out and skin turns shiny and begins to act like the skin of a quick death. Over days stats get changed and other changes occur as well. Character will eventually become an npc as this change is akin to a d&d character becoming a lycanthrope. Just trying to save the character becomes a quest. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 10, 2012 - 7:32am | OK will try and work up the stats for tech gloves. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 February 10, 2012 - 2:01pm | How about this.
Robotic tool glove template---A robotic/mechanical glove which can adapt itself to any races' hand that when put on provides the character with all the tools available in the basic tool kit. While simple grasping of items is possible no fine motor skills such as firing a weapon can be done. Takes one round to put on or take off. I like! /me expecting to see a write-up. |
