 December 17, 2013 - 9:18pm | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_planet http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/diamond-planet-55-cancri-e_n_1957368.html Interesting location where volcanic erruptions would have brought mountains of diamonds to the surface. If the temperature is below 350K long chain hydrocarbons will have formed- methane and tar- potential for rivers of crude oil. Why visit such a place? The diamonds? liquid or frozen methane? Some other resource? Science station placed there? Crashed ship with surviviors in need of rescue? Sathar listening post? Whatever the reason a diamond planet would be a different setting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 17, 2013 - 9:47pm | In the book 2031 (sequel to 2001 and 2010), they find a mountain made of diamond on Europa. After that, diamond becomes incredibly commonplace, and is used to coat statues or world heritage sites in order to weatherproof them. What would be the implications of a diamond planet? Would diamond become worthless? Maybe one megacorporation (such as Streel) would try to grab control of it before anyone else, in order to control the Frontier's supply. Perhaps a new megacorp war would start, fighting over the planet. Just brainstorming... |
 December 18, 2013 - 3:06am | It would all depend on whether the diamond is of sufficient quality to be used as gems. IIRC, most diamond found on Earth isn't of a high enough quality to be used as gems. Maybe this would also be the case with a diamond planet. |
December 18, 2013 - 5:44am | Industrial purposes, I believe, calls for lower quality diamonds. De'beers would want to gain control of the diamond planet and prevent their cash cow from becoming penny ante. The fact that is not that hospitable of a place helps. They would try to lay a claim to it and use disinformation as well. carefully introduced into the market they could continue to charge pretty penny prices while aquiring diamond for penny ante costs. This could be the crux of the adventure. A being is murdered mysteriously but why? He was an employee of D'Vrk Diamonds who recently set up an appointment with an investigative reporter but died before they could meet. Dead man was a ship pilot and told the reporter he has a story that would blow the lid of D'Vrsk Diamonds. D'Vrsk Diamond found out he was going to blow the whistle on their little cash cow rip off opperation and had him killed. solving the murder leads to why he was killed which is the Diamond Planet and a secret corporate operation there. Of course once the PCs get there corporate flagged priveteers will interdict them. They'll likely be taken prisoners as well. then things get railroady and dicey I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 18, 2013 - 5:48am | Trying to think of a reason for the D'Vrsk Diamond corporation to use hull rakers on their ground station at Diamond Planet. [for those who dont know the hull raker is basically a gelatinous cube ported over from D&D and used to scour clean star ship and space station hall ways and conduits- I forget which SFman that one was in] But somehow as the PCs are trying to escape the corporate ground station on diamond planet I'd like to use hull rakers as a mindless threat that wont radio the PCs position to the corporate boss. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 18, 2013 - 6:02am | A world may have a lot of diamonds, but if it costs a great deal to extract them and get them processed and off-world their cost would still be high. If the planet only created very rare but extremely high quality gem diamonds, that would perhaps negate the need to have a plot where there's an artificial tap process/over-arching conspiracy throttling supply. |
December 18, 2013 - 6:18am | I was thinking in terms of the fact that a significant portion of the planet's crust being diamond and that volcanic erruptions would bring giant chunks of it to the surface to be simply picked up with heavy equipment and processed making it worthwhile. As to the need for the hull rakers, perhaps there is a methane breathing invasive algae like organism and constant use of hull rakers is required to keep it in check every once and a while they do lose an employee here and there to a hull raker but that just means they dont have to pay his bonus. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 18, 2013 - 2:30pm | FYI - Diamond supplies are artifically resticted here on earth. African diamonds are restricted in the marketplace because of slavery concerns, but that is only part of the story. ----------------------------------------------- |
December 18, 2013 - 5:49pm | FYI - Diamond supplies are artifically resticted here on earth. African diamonds are restricted in the marketplace because of slavery concerns, but that is only part of the story. yes was aware and that was the reason for naming the Frontier corporation D'Vrsk as a play on De Beer's and casting the corporation as the baddie. Then again always like to cast big business as the baddie. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 27, 2013 - 11:15am | Nice. We do infact mine diamonds from some weird places, there is a ship that does it watched a documentary on it (amazing is the word) and an Artic Mine that is hard to operate and supply... the Diamond Park has survived many attempts of people trying to take it away from the public, there is a story of a diamond mine location cover up in CA too. Brown Diamonds are now being pushed I noticed, I was always under the impression they where low quality diamonds, but it is all marketing anyway. D'Vrsk Jewlers I like it. :) "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
December 27, 2013 - 11:22am | .
Its probably a front for the cadre known as the Zenk (vrusk mafia). D'Vrsk Jewlers I like it. :) I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 29, 2013 - 12:08pm | They are not Brown Diamonds but Chocolate Diamonds. Remember the thing about selling refrigerators to Eskimos? It is not that they need someplace cold to store their food it is that they need a temperature controlled place is it doesn't get too cold. In other words it is ust more advertising and marketing. Which surprisingly their is no Megadorp for. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 December 29, 2013 - 3:02pm | Yes there should be an advertising megacorp. Granted, the SF megacorps tend to be very veritally integrated. For example, there is not an SF equivelent of Foxconn. All megacorps build what they design and do not outsource the manufacturing to others. However, a megacorp that is plugged into the culture of the frontier and thus is better at advertising than the individual megacorp marketing depatements sounds appropriate. -iggy |
December 30, 2013 - 4:22pm | Think I would make advertising Mad Men part of Star Play. They handle televising things. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 30, 2013 - 10:16pm | Think I would make advertising Mad Men part of Star Play. They handle televising things.
Star Play creates the programing AND the advetising? Not sur abot that- cant see PGC letting go of control of it advertising. However, if a planet had a restictive government that proscribed what the entertainment should be then i could see both the entertainment and the adverts coming from the same source with a healthy market for bootleg holoprograms. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 31, 2013 - 1:23pm | There could be a combination here. PGC has an ad department which comes up with the ideas for the campaigns. They handle the print and computer ads in house. They also come up with the scripts for the video and audio ads (TV and Radio). However all the production facilities and actors (A-D list) are Star Play property so PGC goes to them to get the ads made. PGC is there as the client to supervise while Star Play makes the ad. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
December 31, 2013 - 1:59pm | However all the production facilities and actors (A-D list) are Star Play property so PGC goes to them to get the ads made. PGC is there as the client to supervise while Star Play makes the ad. I could live with that. though what would stop someone for hiring non or aspiring actors for their commercials? Local car dealerships where the owner casts himself in his own commercial and his performance is stiff but so many of them do it, is it ego or just cost cutting? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
January 1, 2014 - 1:18pm | Did you know Tiger Woods was once fined for making a TV commercial. Seems he forgot to renew his Screen Actors Guild membership when he did it. So the answer to your question is UNIONS that's who. Local commercials and documentaries with real people being interviewed are usually exempt but if you want to make video for large scale release you need to be a member or a non-speaking extra. You can really get in trouble for violating Union rules in Hollywood and it doesn't apply to actors alone. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 January 1, 2014 - 9:09pm | I think that megacorps should have subsidiarys to do other work for them. For instance ship building for PGC is done by the Sorro Suub shipbuilding company in my campaigns. They also own other shipbuilders. Computer stuff is done by another company. Hand tools are made by another firm, power tools by yet another. All owned by the parent company. Streel Corp does the same thing. This helps PGC give the impression that there is more competition than is really out there. The bombing starts in five minutes. |
January 2, 2014 - 1:53pm | Dmoffett in the original AD where PGC was the only Megacorp that would be the only way to go. But with all the other Megacorps like Trans Travel supposedly making 85% of the ships in the Frontier it doesn't quite work. Plus at that time PGC had given up almost all its physical manufacturing and gone into financial dealings. However that is just the way it was written and as Mr. Gygax always stressed just play things your way. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
March 27, 2014 - 1:06pm | In the book 2031 (sequel to 2001 and 2010), they find a mountain made of diamond on Europa. After that, diamond becomes incredibly commonplace, and is used to coat statues or world heritage sites in order to weatherproof them. What would be the implications of a diamond planet? Would diamond become worthless? Maybe one megacorporation (such as Streel) would try to grab control of it before anyone else, in order to control the Frontier's supply. Perhaps a new megacorp war would start, fighting over the planet. Just brainstorming... Just what are Streel and PGC hiding in the tightly controlled systems of Pan-Gal and New Streel? Cue the conspiracy theorist.... I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
