 November 8, 2012 - 10:09am | Brainstorming ideas, all ideas welcome, feedback is important: kicking around ideas for a new adventure for the crew of the CFMS Venture (Mooks awithout Number) and thought it should be diplomacy based with limited or toned down combat. Looking for ideas for encounters, challenges, plot, bad guys. Open to anything though my first idea was to center the story on Clarion and involve some of the upper crust but I have no commitment to that. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 8, 2012 - 9:10pm | Star Trek - The Next Generation has explored every type of diplomacy adventure that could be conceived. Star Trek VI is also a diplomacy adventure. 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) |
November 9, 2012 - 4:57am | I heard it once said there where there are 3 people there is politics. So to take a formula from Star Trek VI you need 2 long term antagonists that would like to put to rest the antagonism and a third party that desires the status quo remain. To do this in the Frontier: A: UPF and Sathar make peace? I think this is a non starter B: Sathar clan Y offers to make peace with the UPF but clan X will need to go. Clan Y will provide targets and astrogation data and a task force. Naturally clan Y is trying to recover its position and come out on top and in the long run probably should not be trusted. More suited to a military campaign. C. mechanons instead of sathar- likely points of diplomacy- ending mechanon revolt, mechanon migration, and mechanon request to join the UPF. This would be easy to insert the Venture into the mix as its a reserve auxillary warship for the Flight with its status as CFM and could be activated and tasked to land supplies to the besieged forces or rescue Rim Coalition delegates, or support CFM forces on planet. D. Dramune system? more than one Dramune War happened just pick one that happened outside the confines of the Dramune Run module. E. Craft a dust up between two systems of the UPF: Fromeltar is poised to attack someone that it feels has been smuggling in or through its space (smuggling is a big no no with this govenment) or revisit the Yazirian Civil war thread , this option and the above is likely to call for Space Fleet involvement so to a certain extent they are perhaps not so acceptable from the stand point of logically inserting the Venture into the mix. F. Scale it down to conflict between two groups within one system or on one planet. This is kind of what I was thinking. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 9, 2012 - 5:37am | Types of Diplomacy: 1. Appeasement- gave us WW2 2. Citizen diplomacy- the idea that the average citizen has a responsibility to help shap foreign policy, One hand shake at a time, teachers, athaletes, students etc are types of citizen diplomats 3. Cultural Diplomacy- increases understanding and forms a basis for equal human rights , can be performed by non governmental agencies and the private sector 4. Deference- passively submitting to a superior 5. Pilgrimage Diplomacy- involves government officials making a pilgrimage under the pretext of visiting a holy site or shrine but to really engage in unofficial talks. 6. Dollar Diplomacy- made famous by President Taft- giving loans to open up foreign markets 7. Economic diplomacy- concerned with economic policy and delegations are concerned with setting standards at things like the World Trade Organization- doesn't sound exciting but probably lots of ground here to do something in the setting. 8. Engagement - probably too broad a concept to apply to a RPG module 9. Face book diplomacy - called soft power - using networking software and sites to bring about a shift. 10.Free Lance Diplomat- countrys that cannot afford a full time specialist on the pay roll will hire a free lance diplomat for a specific task- this could be idea set up for the Venture and her crew. The captain is doing the actual degotiations and asks the crew to accomplish a series of tasks pay for the crew should be quite high for this activity. 11. Gun Boat or Big Stick diplomacy done with a conspicuous show of military power and implies the threat of war if the party with the stick doesn't get the terms it desires. 12. Panda Diplomacy- china using giant pandas as gifts to other countries, in setting- use of yazirian fauna by Hentz as a gift to government of another planet if its a yazirian planet then to smooth relations if a non yazirian planet its just about openning exchanges, this could work with a Rim government sending animals to a UPF planet or it could be the Liberty system sending something to say Clarion and looking for greater industrial support. 13. Regional diploamcy talks by states of a geographic region aimed at becoming a strong force in international relations- in setting this would be yazirian colonies or vrusk colonies or human colonies doing this to some extent the Rim is already this. 14. Science diplomacy- international science and engineering exchanges 15. Shuttle diplomacy- one party acting as an intermediary without the two principles having direct contact. 16.Track II Diplomacy - haed to describe and wikipedia gave an example of it 17. Trade mission- mission by government and business people to explore international business opportunities. Rather than peace talks I think some of the above make much more sense for the Venture's involvement especially the economic stuff or the Free Lance diplomacy. Of course something like a boring sounding trade mission might just be a back drop for other action but then the adventure is not strickly a diplomatic adventure. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 9, 2012 - 3:46pm | I like your write-up. 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) |
November 9, 2012 - 4:03pm | I only meant that a trade mission sounds boring to me. I still dont have an idea to run with here yet, though the economica stuff and free lance diplomacy seem like good starting places. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 9, 2012 - 7:33pm | How about they are carrying an ancient yazirian artifact, or vrusk, or dralasite, but most likely yazirian or vrusk. The government that has it does not want to let out that it has secretly had this artifact but as a sign of friendship to the leaders of the other government is arranging for them to "find" this lost artifact. Thus the CFM are engaged to carry this artifact and not them and it will remain unknown and "lost" while in transit. However, the CFM ship that is carrying it really looses it and the Venture and her crew are called in to find it. The CFM don't want to admit it is lost so they just slow down the courier ship with extra "cover" cargo missions while the Venture searches for the artifact. Meanwhile the operatives of the two governments smell something wrong and are trying to find out what's up. -iggy |
November 9, 2012 - 8:52pm | Over a flat bread pizza and a glass of wine I thought of this: Specific Diplomatic situations in the Frontier: 1.Hentz/Araks: cultural mission to open up Hentz to allow non yazirian visitors, Scientific diplomacy- exchanges with yazirian scientist who are on the fore front of terraforming and genetics and connected to the Ark of Yazira 2. Athor/Yastz: Trade or economic mission- Yast is a poor colongy compared to other yazirian colonies and limited to an agriculture economy. They desperately are looking for investment and would love to negotiate a deal for the CFM to build a trade station here, Hentz opposes this as they prefer to keep all Yazirian space under their thumb but the are beholding to he CFM for its role in helping to finance and under write the loan to set up GODCo. Another issue with this is that Athor is a long way to travel but a CFM controlled trade station this deep into the Frotnier and one that is openning up Yazirian space for the CFM could be desirable. Tackle that with a need to find a more direct route from Scree Fron to Capella. this route makes sense but does it actually eliminate the need for this station are cause it to be less of a good investment? 3. Madderly's star is the site of the Free World Rebellion which makes more sense to me as arising out of economic consideration then pure racial animosity. However, after the fact racila animosity will linger and fester as part of the justification for the rebellion- Now decades latter the Vrusk would like to open up Madderly's star through cultural exchange and repatriate the bodies of their dead and or make pilgrimage to lay flowers at the grave. To this purpos they hire an intermediary, the Venture and crew. 4. Dramune is obvious but I think one Dramune Run module is enough and I'd prefer to not deal with it as obvious a place for diplomacy it is. 5. Truane's Star, Police action on Cygnus Omicron IX delays the government from sending its own Volturnus expedition so they hire out to get the PCs for the Voltunrus series. i generally interpret Cygnus Omicron IX as the 9th moon of a Gas Giant called Cygnus Omicron in the Truane's sTar system. After its essential conquest by Pale its renamed New Pale. This is fertile ground for diplomacy and the CFM has been heavily involved here. not sure this system interests me though 6. Volturnus: Scientific exhange with the eorna's medical and geneticist establishment; Trade- the eorna are in need for decades to come after the battle of Volturnus to turn their situtation around. Panda Diplomacy- exhange of some biological oddity that the eorna crafted, Cultural mission - the eorna love beauty and art as much as the vrusk 7. Hentz employs gun boat diplomacy in Scree Fron or Athor I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 10, 2012 - 6:06am | How about they are carrying an ancient yazirian artifact, or vrusk, or dralasite, but most likely yazirian or vrusk. The government that has it does not want to let out that it has secretly had this artifact but as a sign of friendship to the leaders of the other government is arranging for them to "find" this lost artifact. Thus the CFM are engaged to carry this artifact and not them and it will remain unknown and "lost" while in transit. However, the CFM ship that is carrying it really looses it and the Venture and her crew are called in to find it. The CFM don't want to admit it is lost so they just slow down the courier ship with extra "cover" cargo missions while the Venture searches for the artifact. Meanwhile the operatives of the two governments smell something wrong and are trying to find out what's up. Forgive me Iggy, I didn't quite follow you post when I first read it, must have been late. This sounds like a something to do with Madderly's Star, the government is looking to repatriate something of value (emotional, cultural or otherwise) to K'tsa-Kar quietly as they want to avoid anyadmittance of having done wrong in the Rebellion. Other groups (mostl likely hate groups want this to fail. Other groups want it to come to light and embarass the government of Madderly's Star. Venture is in the middle. This sets up the principles in the diplomacy of A. Madderly's Star B. Vrusk concerns C. Hate group that wants it to fail D. News reporter looking for a good story (which is contrary to the desires of A and E. a cadre concerned with Being's Rights that wants to expose the Madderly's Star govenment which could derail the whole negotiation. I was leaning toward the material around yast/Athor but creating a new trade station and possible jump route from Scree Fron to Capella would be changing the canon material quite a bit and could limit the popularity of the adventure I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
