 December 1, 2013 - 1:00pm | Just came by a PDF download of this Space Opera, until I can add a hard copy to my collection. Thought I'd review it Its a campaign setting not a module. http://www.amazon.com/Casino-Galactica-Adventure-Setting-Scenarios/dp/B000M7V2LM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385928096&sr=1-... Openning advice: 1. A resort like this has lots of things going on as well as events that come and go; referees would do well to have several storylines in play at the same time and to give the players more information than they need. [Ironically the kids were watching something and have moved on to other things and now the TV just happens to be playing an episode of Love Boat in the background. I wasn't paying attention till just now but I thought I detected two different story lines. As I remember it Fantasy Island might be a good model of this as well.] I'm reminded of the d20 list of rumors from Keep on the Borderlands and a similar rumor list would stand a referee in good stead in running this setting but referees will need to develop this rumor table themselves. 2. Dont be sparing with the named NPCs, lay them on thick and let the players encounter them, even the owner of the resort. In fact the author states "A star master that cant use Conchita Columbia should be ashamed." Immediately after the above advice things transition to a flow chart of the Table of Organization for the resort showing admin, security and service staff is provided and probably helpful. this then is followed with a section on 17 NPC resort staff with stats and background and some have portraits. Toward the end of the list the NPCs that are the Head Waitress or Head Bartender are little more than stats and a paragraph. Next comes NPC descriptions on 12 Notable Guest. same deal about 4-5 get several paragraphs and portraits but latter you get a prostitute with just a stat block and paragraph or Father Doherty who is listed as a boss operative but only has a stat block Buildings and Grounds One page numbered map followed by numbered room descriptions- feels like an old school D&D module map much like the above mentioned Keep on the Borderlands module, particularly the map of the keep and the surroundings. This is followed by the more detailed resort map which feels like the Caves of Chaos map in Keep on the Borderlands. Fun and games This section covers gambling in the casino but doesn't provide a mechanic for actually running poker or blackjack or slot machines in the RPG GRav Ball sport and betting Bit of background on the previous season plus posturing by the local team captain then a schedule of the upcoming season is provided for the game master with odds of winning, actual % chance of winning, advice on giving the setting flavor by having sports news briefs on how the teams are doing even creating other teams from the league. the Grav Ball game is based on a board game by the publisher and its recommended for purchase as a fun simple game. I dunno yet if this is still in print. Anual Race event is described. the race is for space ships and seems tailor made for the players to actually get involved in- the prize purses are listed race course is 140 LY long. Information on the SID or subliminal imagery device which reads like a plot hook to me. Next is encounter tables for various places in the resort as well as an act table for what acts might be performing. Encounter tables can have a night and day listing. A section on local fauna which all look like earth animals with different names, these would be for PCs engaging in the hunting preserve portion of the resort. Section 10 is scenarios There are 5 scenarios which are each covered with 4-5 paragraphs. Scenario 6 is titled other ideas and has 6 entries of plot hooks needing more development by the "star master" Opinion: the setting book is lavish in detailing NPCs: a total of 29 not counting the captain of the local grav ball team who is only mentioned by name in the course of the module. Aside from only rudimentary information on gambling in the casino, the data on local team's grav ball season and odds for betting and actual chance of a win are very handy in providing atmosphere. In fact something like this would be a good model for developing a sector wide sports league with teams for star frontiers and add atmosphere to a campaign where players might risk a little money on sports betting. I like the fact that there are odds of winning 2-1, 4-1 and then an actual % chance of the team winning. Makes this easy to use. Plenty of plot hooks in the NPC seciton and scenarios seciton. Maps are open and un cluttered by grid lines. Plenty of black and white artwork through out. Some work is needed on the part of the referee but otherwise a very usable document. Easily ported over to any other rule set and placed in almost any other sci fi setting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 1, 2013 - 3:51pm | I like the idea of creating a frontier wide sport. I also like the idea of a simple set of rules for a fifteen minute game where players can playout the results of a match. Then we could game the history of the sport from pre-SW I to post SW II by doing matches in a project on this site. Each person would invent a team and the players for the team, stats and such that play into the game, and write some colorfull details about them, their sponser, and their home location. At the end of each season we could retire some players, draft some new, etc. This is much like the office sport games that people play. We would just make the game play out in chat or a thread of posts. We could use the same rules we develope for the fifteen minute game session at the table top. The first detail to determine is what would this game be? It needs to accomodate players from all races and not disadvantage a team of all one race. -iggy |
December 1, 2013 - 4:28pm | Agree about the multi species aspect. I would lime to run down a copy of Grav Ball by FGU for comparison purposes. As to team sports you are going to get single race teams from from single species colonies despite drafting and recruitment. Unless the game is based on a team with one each of the core four. Saurians wont even count as they are still too few in number and the number of eorna is a joke as well. The sport can be semi combat based as combat ultimately can be a leveled playing field. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 1, 2013 - 10:57pm | I think there would be single race teams from some worlds, but I would like to conceive a game that does not play an unblanaced advantage to either single race or multi-race teams. I see yazirians liking sports where prey must be captured and returned to home before the opposing clan gets home. Poaching the other clan's prey is allowed. This would be a natural progression from ancient strife. They substitute an item when the prey is missing and no longer kill the prey so that they can play again using the same prey, favoring the prey that was harder to catch. Much like bull riders prize the bulls that are better opponents. I'm thinking there would be a prey that flys for one variation of the game and a prey that runs, jumps, and climbs for another variation of the game. Dralasites would like muscle and obsticle course games. Get from point A to B as fast as possible while beating a series of obsticles using strength and enginuity. Adding a toke to retrieve would be a new twist from the humans and yazirinas that they like. Vrusk likely would like games requiring formations and cooperation with each team out playing the other. They might also include more than two teams in a match to make the competition and difficulty higher. Likely they would have one player that was to be protected while the other team(s) tries to capture him. Anciently this is based on protecting the high value members of the hive. Now this is just mock battles with many ritual rules that evolved over thousands of years. Mix these and the human games we know to come up with some interspecies core four sport. -iggy |
 December 2, 2013 - 7:33am | Make up of teams could follow international football rules. There would be many leagues on all the planets from minor leagues and friendly unprofessional leagues to the the professional teams which everyone wants to be on (think Manchester United) but in order to participate in the Frontier Cup your team must be made up of only natives to your planet. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 December 2, 2013 - 11:41am | All types of sports are popular globally, but what sports can we call THE most popular in the world? Some of the answers may surprise you. It's no surprise that football, or what Americans call "soccer" is the world's most popular sport to play and to watch. An estimated 3.5 billion people either watch or play football. The World Cup is the global championship of the sport and this tournament is played every four years. The World Cup itself is one of the highest rated sports on television, with many countries tuning in en masse to watch their country's team play. Football is popular in all of the UK, Europe, Asia as well as South America. However, with so many other sports being popular, the Unites States still lags behind in their interest in "soccer". Next, we have cricket. This sport which consists of a bat and a ball, has been around for hundreds of years and originated in England. The sport is popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, some African countries, some Caribbean countries and it is the most popular sport in the countries of India and Pakistan. An estimated 3 billion people watch or play cricket each year. The next most popular sport is a sure surprise, and that is field hockey, with an estimated 2 billion players or watchers, mostly in Asian countries, European countries, Australia and around Africa. This sport tends to be played in high schools in the United States, usually by girls only. Coming up next is tennis. Not so surprising, but there are an estimated 1 billion players and watchers of tennis around the world. Tennis tends to be popular in richer countries, including the United States, Asian countries, Australia and Europe. There are four main tournaments in tennis, called "Grand Slams" at which players from many countries play. The first is the Australian Open, then the French Open, Wimbledon and then the US Open in late August. The Grand Slam tournaments tend to get the most attention during the tennis season. Next we have volleyball. Yet another surprise, with an estimated 900 million viewers or players around the world. Volleyball is popular in the United States, where the sport originated, as well as in Brazil, all over Europe, Russia, China and Japan. Volleyball is a popular high school sport in many countries due to it's team centered play and lack of specialized equipment requirements. Also popular is table tennis, otherwise known as Ping Pong. This is another surprisingly popular sport around the world, with an estimated 900 million watchers or players. Table tennis originated in England as an after dinner activity for Victorians in the late 19th century. Table tennis as a competitive sport is popular in many countries but is especially popular in China, Korea and Singapore. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/551180 |
December 2, 2013 - 12:55pm | Field Hockey was called tampon ball in my high school. I like the idea of the World Cup taking four years to play out. The Frontier Cup takes 5 years to playout across the Frontier? The length of time makes a little sense when you take into account interstellar travel. Also because of interstellar travel its generally a series of games played out when another team is visiting from another planet. so without proposing a sport let me propose this on many worlds their is a world league where the top team gets to compete in the Frontier Cup and this may mean that its not the same team every time. creating intense competition among the world league to be the top team. Some colonies simply put up the same team every year ie their local rules are that they pick the best players from every team in the league- sort of an all star team but this only happens on Light and medium population worlds where as a colony like Gran Quivera or Minotaur with their mega cities and heavy population can put up an individual team every bit as good as other planet's all star teams. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 2, 2013 - 9:23pm | I like the World Cups leading to the Frontier Cup. Let's stick with the term "cup" too. We all too often we dis the humans and don't use their enfluence to the culture in the name of making it scifi and alien. Well, in this case, the humans just happened to have the best type of trophy and the strongest tradition of organized leagues with championships and the supporting industry of sponsers, memorabilia, media, and fans. I can go with the 5 year cycle between the Frontier Cup. I would think that the sport developed was a mish-mash of core 4 sports where the humans borrowed from the other races elements that they liked in their sports. They took the best and melded it with a human sport by chance of evolution. The primary driver of this evolution would be the human desire to show the others that they can do what ever their race does just as good as they do. Then their chalanging the other races to their sport. Thus the sports just started melding together until one dominant form popularized on one of the multiracial worlds. -iggy |
December 2, 2013 - 10:47pm | Ok, so what sports are played? I would suggest football or soccer. Also, I am working on a motorcross/roller derby style game like in Venus Wars. I think it would be popular with Humans and Yazirians and half the Drals. The bikes are big enough to accomodate a Vrusk and because of the team/cartel type mentality, I think that a portion of them (25-50%) like it too. But, we should compile a list of popular sports. What would they be? |
December 3, 2013 - 5:02am | Some sports wont need to be changed at all. I can see competitive racing evolving in many cultures. So while a foot race would favor the vrusk cycle racing would not and just to give it a sci fi feel its hover cycle racing. on Osaka the traditional form of competitive racing was air boats, similar to those used in the Florida Everglades but of a slightly modified style (no sitting so high up in the boat or you'll get clotheslined in the native Osaka environment. Hover cycle racing was an import from the wider star sector which has become popular as well in the last 40 years. So what it the big Frontier cup league sport? I dont know that it needs to be complicated- something combat oriented? Soccer started in mideval Europe as a brawl between two villages kicking a wooden ball or stone around. What if it was a playing field arena where the team players were on pedastals that they could be knocked off of? Players have a hard ball (size and shape of a baseball) that they can use to pelt an opponent and a pole arm/blast pole one end of the blast pole is a padded weight for thumping an opponent and the other is effectively a stepped down beam weapon that does not damage but has enough force to push/unballance an opponent but only works at point blank range. Also pedestals can randomly light up and 6 seconds latter the surface you are standing on produces a "blast field" to knock you straight up a half meter- RS check to not go into the pit, players try to vault away before this happens. Object is to knock all of the other team into the "pit" to do this players may pelt an opponent with their ball or knock him off with their blast pole. They may vault across to another pedestal. Naturally you'd get your knocked silly if an opponent saw you coming on a vault so other team members attempt to distract your target by pelting him while you vault. Various points in the game bridges between platforms are put in place either randomly or by design (not sure which). Game starts out like chess moves but quickly devolves to a running battle where only one or none emerge victorious (its possible for the last two opponents to be knocked into the pit at the same time.) The whole pedestal thing shows a lineage back to yazirian competitions, the baseball is from human influence because no matter how much the yazirians grumbled no one wanted to use the yazirian zamira and get sliced to pieces. yazirians have gone along with the base ball because they found that their long fingers could put a whicked curve on it. dralasites are power throwers, that sting and hurt. Also on the world cup/ Frontier cup there might be some exhibition matches of the visiting Frontier Cup league team taking on a popular local team that is not in the running for the World Cup. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 3, 2013 - 2:26pm | I am concerned that pedestals disadvantage vrusk players. I like the nod at baseball from the humans. It's a nice American touch. Maybe they are trees and not pedestals. I figure vrusk can climb and cling to a tree fairly well. I don't see them jumping from pedestal to pedestal very well. As for chess strategy, to teams get to place their poles before the match without the other team knowing their arrangement. Then there is a dedicated open space between the tree zones. I'll keep pondering other game possibilities. I'd love to hear anyone else's ideas. -iggy |
December 4, 2013 - 8:04pm | LOL, sounds like pugel stick fighting in basic training!  |
December 4, 2013 - 8:10pm | Personally, I think that football (soccer) should be a sport. Maybe not THE sport but, a sport on the list. Granted...Vrusks and Drals may have an advantage but, it is team oriented, nationalistics, low scoring and if - you make it a Combat version - brutal. We played Combat Soccer in the Army. You could block, stiff-arm, kick someone's feet out from under them - the objective was 1) to exercise 2) hone reflexes, skills & aggression and 3) to win. I could see Combat Football or in Frontier World "Football" being a popular sport. It could be a game played with a ball and some friends ANYWHERE. There are some planets that do not have trees or poor people that do not have pedestals. So I think with everyone playing it - it would be in the top 10. |
December 4, 2013 - 8:41pm | True, football can be played anywhere and the only equipment required is one ball that can easily be made out of a bundle of rags if need be. I have seen this in both the Philippines and South Africa. Football must be on the list. I can see humans and yazirians developing football. Dralasites would tend to throw the ball rather than kick it, so they would develop the thrown version of football. Vrusk would tend toward races so the ball would likely be carried for the runs like American football. What if it was four team football with zones when the ball could be thrown and carried? -iggy |
December 4, 2013 - 8:50pm | Look, you are going about this all wrong. The sport is one we have already discussed and to make it interesting, your race determines your position. So which race fits each of the Jugger positions? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 5, 2013 - 8:56pm | Flit Board racing, Floater Disk riding (or “Disking” as it’s called amongst its protagonists) and Sub Orbital Freefall are the current hot topics amongst the thrill seekers ...Hargut. (SFMAN 16, pg 31) |
December 5, 2013 - 11:11pm | I like Iggy's idea - four end zones - like two overlapping football fields, like an "X". |
December 5, 2013 - 11:20pm | I came up with a game...kind of like the one from Venus Wars. I borrowed a pic from Shadow Shack. I just need to find a place to put it. Cycle Derby is played by two teams of six members simultaneously racing
counterclockwise on a circuit track. Each team designates a scoring player (the
"queen"); the other five members are "blockers." The queen
wears a helmet cover bearing two stars and the remaining members' helmets are
uncovered. The bout is
played in two periods of 30 minutes. Points are scored when a queen on a
scoring pass (every pass a queen makes through the pack after the initial pass)
laps members of the opposing team. Each team's blockers use body contact,
changing positions, and other tactics to assist its queen to score while
hindering the opposing team's queen. There are three leagues for Bike
Derby. The league is based on the bike type: <!--[if !supportLists]-->1.
<!--[endif]-->Hover Cycle Grade A, Main <!--[if !supportLists]-->2.
<!--[endif]-->Ground Cycle Grade B <!--[if !supportLists]-->3.
<!--[endif]-->Mono Cycle Grade C, New Hover
Cycle is the most popular league right now. Ground cycle leagues are B Grade
leagues and are on some planets. The Mono Cycle League is fast becoming
popular. It is based on a Mono Cycle, which has one wheel and a gyrocompass.
The statistics for this cycle are listed below, with the other cycles. <!--[if gte vml 1]>  <!--[endif]-->Hover
CycleCost: 2,000 Cr. Top/Cruise Speed: 100
kph / 80 kph Crew/Passengers: 1/1 Cargo Limit: 20
kg .5 cubic meters
<!--[if gte vml 1]>  <!--[endif]-->Ground CycleCost: 2,000 Cr. Top/Cruise Speed: 120
kph / 60 kph Crew/Passengers: 1/1 Cargo Limit: 20
kg .5 cubic meters
<!--[if gte vml 1]>  <!--[endif]-->Mono CycleCost: 2,500 Cr. Top/Cruise Speed: 150
kph / 60 kph <!--[if gte vml 1]> Cargo Limit: 10
kg .5 cubic meters
Hover Cycle
Derby Teams
These are the twenty-six teams for the Grade A
circuit. Each team plays the other teams in its circuit, over the course of
three months. Then the top teams gather from each circuit for the Gold Cup
Finals. Circuit A and B have a Wild Card slot that is available to each
circuit. The second and third place teams each play off against each other –
the winner gets the wild card. For the Gold Cup Finals there are 6 teams that
play off against each other ~ A vs C, B vs D and Wild Card. The winners of the
A/C and B/D each play a Wild Card team. The winners of these two matches face
up for the Kragg-Johnson Gold Cup, named in honor of the founders of the sport
– Ap-Flinaar Kragg from Hargut and James Johnson from Minotaur. Circuit
A
(Yazirian) <!--[if !supportLists]-->1.
<!--[endif]-->Hentz, Araks Hentz Ambrikahns <!--[if !supportLists]-->2.
<!--[endif]-->Yast, Athor Yast Commandoes <!--[if !supportLists]-->3.
<!--[endif]-->*Exhib, Athor Exhib
Devils <!--[if !supportLists]-->4.
<!--[endif]-->Histran, Scree Fron Histran Spacers <!--[if !supportLists]-->5.
<!--[endif]-->Hakosoar, Scree Fron Hakosoar Bakkatos <!--[if !supportLists]-->6.
<!--[endif]-->Hargut, Gruna Garu Hargut
Warriors <!--[if !supportLists]-->7.
<!--[endif]-->*Trefrom, Gruna Garu Trefrom Miners
Circuit B
(primarily Vrusk & Dralasite) <!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Inner Reach, Dramune Inner Reach Chukkahs <!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Outer Reach, Dramune Outer Reach Buccaneers <!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Groth, Fromeltar Groth
Erengals <!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Terledrom, Fromeltar Terledrom Terrors <!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->Zik’kit, Kizk-Kar Zik’kit
Explorers <!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->Ken’zah Kit, K’aken-Kar Ken’zah Kit Rik’ta <!--[if !supportLists]-->7. <!--[endif]-->Kawdl-Kit, K’tsa-Kar Kawdl-Kit
Eelaxi
Circuit C
(primarily Human) <!--[if !supportLists]-->1.
<!--[endif]-->Pale, Truane’s Star Pale Reapers <!--[if !supportLists]-->2.
<!--[endif]-->New Pale, Truane’s Star New
Pale Eagles <!--[if !supportLists]-->3.
<!--[endif]-->Laco, Dixon’s Star Laco Grolms <!--[if !supportLists]-->4.
<!--[endif]-->Gran Quivera, Prenglar Prenglar Chameleon Snakes <!--[if !supportLists]-->5.
<!--[endif]-->Morgaine’s World, Prenglar Morgaine’s
World Lions <!--[if !supportLists]-->6.
<!--[endif]-->Lossend, Timeon Lossend Rangers
Circuit D
(primarily Human) <!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Minotaur, Theseus Minotaur
Golossans <!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Gollywog, White Light Gollywog Royalists <!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Kdikit, Madderly’s Star Kdikit Killers <!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Rupert’s Hole, Cassidine Ruport’s
Hole Zaliss <!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->Triad, Cassidine Triad
Vik’t-ziirs <!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->*Evergleem, Cassadine Evergleem Crushers Top 30 Hover
Cycle Derby Players
These are the top scorers and defensive players of
all times for Hover Cycle Derby. <!--[if !supportLists]-->1.
<!--[endif]-->Axcess Denied - Yast Commandoes <!--[if !supportLists]-->2.
<!--[endif]-->Abby Tude - Evergleem Crushers <!--[if !supportLists]-->3.
<!--[endif]-->Acid Reign - Triad Vik’t-ziirs <!--[if !supportLists]-->4.
<!--[endif]-->Charli Horse - Kawdl-Kit Eelaxi <!--[if !supportLists]-->5.
<!--[endif]-->Dawny Darko - Laco Grolms (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->6.
<!--[endif]-->Effie Bomb - Pale Reapers <!--[if !supportLists]-->7.
<!--[endif]-->Eureeka Havoc - Morgaine’s World Lions <!--[if !supportLists]-->8.
<!--[endif]-->Ferocia - Minotaur Golossans (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->9.
<!--[endif]-->Fire Kracker - Zik’kit Explorers <!--[if !supportLists]-->10. <!--[endif]-->Freaken Stein - Gollywog
Royalists <!--[if !supportLists]-->11. <!--[endif]-->Full Metal Brum - Hakosoar
Bakkatos <!--[if !supportLists]-->12. <!--[endif]-->Grumbellina - Kawdl-Kit
Eelaxi (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->13. <!--[endif]-->Hardley An Angel - Lossend
Rangers <!--[if !supportLists]-->14. <!--[endif]-->Marzipain - Groth
Erengals <!--[if !supportLists]-->15. <!--[endif]-->Medusa Damage - Pale
Reapers (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->16. <!--[endif]-->Papa Rizzi - Prenglar
Chameleon Snakes <!--[if !supportLists]-->17. <!--[endif]--> Perfecta Kill - Hentz
Ambrikahns <!--[if !supportLists]-->18. <!--[endif]--> Plum Krazy - Histran
Spacers <!--[if !supportLists]-->19. <!--[endif]-->Queen Cobra - New Pale
Eagles (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->20. <!--[endif]-->Zombie Stardust - Terledrom
Terrors <!--[if !supportLists]-->21. <!--[endif]--> Iron Butterfly - Exhib
Devils <!--[if !supportLists]-->22. <!--[endif]-->Bratchu Gotchu - Hargut
Warriors <!--[if !supportLists]-->23. <!--[endif]-->Izzy Dead - Trefrom
Miners <!--[if !supportLists]-->24. <!--[endif]--> Johnny Crash - Kdikit
Killers <!--[if !supportLists]-->25. <!--[endif]-->Kick-N-Ash - Ruport’s
Hole Zaliss <!--[if !supportLists]-->26. <!--[endif]-->Kila Monster - Kdikit
Killers <!--[if !supportLists]-->27. <!--[endif]-->Maiden Hell - Outer Reach
Buccaneers (F) <!--[if !supportLists]-->28. <!--[endif]-->Bangup Barganoo - Inner Reach
Chukkahs <!--[if !supportLists]-->29. <!--[endif]-->Kil’u Kax - Ken’zah Kit
Rik’ta <!--[if !supportLists]-->30. <!--[endif]-->Apain - Hargut Warriors (F)
|
December 5, 2013 - 11:32pm | Top Teams – the following are usually the winners in
their circuits: Circuit A Hentz,
Araks Hentz Ambrikahns Hargut, Gruna Garu Hargut Warriors Circuit B Terledrom, Fromeltar Terledrom Terrors Circuit C Gran Quivera, Prenglar Prenglar Chameleon Snakes Circuit D Minotaur,
Theseus Minotaur
Golossans Triad,
Cassidine Triad Vik’t-ziirs |
<!--[endif]-->