 February 10, 2014 - 1:37pm | As I mentioned last week, I just ran a marathon game of Star Frontiers. I am happy to report that the players described it as "epic". The premise was that there was an ancient Tetrarch weapon of mass destruction that could destroy entire systems. This ultimate weapon could not easily be destroyed, and had been broken up into 9 smaller pieces and scattered across space hundreds of thousands of years ago. Somehow the Sathar learn about this weapon, and send out agents to gather the pieces and assemble it. Enter our heroes, who are agents of Star law. They are hired by a secretive being who wants them to get the pieces first, and stop the Sathar, to prevent the destruction of the Frontier. The characters are 2 Dralasites (both are male players), a Yazirian woman, 2 human women, and the princess Leora of Clarion, daughter of King Leotus. The same woman has been playing her for the last year in our game, and she plays her kind of like Padme Amidala from Star Wars. She is actually the most formidable member of the group. The only NPC is a female Vrusk medic. Yes, the group is mostly women. To find the pieces, they have to work from rumors, ancient legends, and the local folklore on each planet. They have an NPC doing historical research, and updating them periodically. They have to act quickly, since the Sathar's agents are on the same trail, and keep trying to trail & spy on our heroes. The Sathar have an entire network of agents in the Frontier & Rim, including several mentalists (who can get information from the PC's minds). They have near-infinite resources. The PCs only have one large Dralasite ship, and a handful of volunteers. As the PCs continue through planet after planet, investigating ancient ruins & mysterious structures, the villains are only a step behind them, and occasionally even a step ahead of them. Clashes between the two groups are frequent. Eventually the chase leads into the Rim, and more than half of the story takes place there. 3 new NPCs join the adventure, an Ifshnit, an Osakar and a Humma, who are their Rim guides. They continue exploring ancient ruins, but find that some have recently been ransacked. Humma agents have been there, and manage to get a couple of the pieces before the players do. The players have all but 3 of the pieces, which are now in Sathar hands. After interrogating the Humma agents, they learn the location of the Sathar base where the remaining pieces are being held. They round up a force of Humma fighter ships and take their big Dralasite ship into uncharted space. What they discover there is that the Sathar & Zuraqqor are in the process of building a new fleet, and are planning a major invasion of the Rim and Frontier. The ships are almost finished. Epic battles ensue, with the odds heavily in the Sathar's favor. As the NPCs continue the battle in space, the PCs infiltrate the Sathar base to search for the pieces. There are battles with Zuraqqor, robots, slavebots, cyboslugs, and even a cybodragon. They manage to free a group of Ifshnit, Mhemne and Bora-kai slaves (see the Star Frontiersman for details on the Bora-kai). Eventually the find the pieces, but in the conflict the princess is shot. She is dying. The medic rushes her back to the ship and places her in a freeze field. They destroy the remaining Sathar & Zuraqqor ships with a great deal of suspense, and then rush back into the Rim and straight to a hospital. It is a tense surgical operation, but the princess manages to survive. After some huge celebrations in the Rim, they head to Volturnus where an Eorna they befriended in a previous campaign takes the pieces and hides them in the far future (using the Eorna time machine from Villains of Volturnus), scattering them once again. Then, after visiting some Edestekai friends, also from a previous game, they return to Clarion for an emotional parting and satisfying conclusion. |
 February 10, 2014 - 5:34pm | Sounds fun and a bit Mass Effect-y which is pretty high praise from me. :) Also (using the Eorna time machine from Villains of Volturnus) A. WHAT???!! B. Linky please This is a new one on me. Great Stuff though. I bet that was a lot of fun to play. |
 February 10, 2014 - 5:37pm | Sounds fun and a bit Mass Effect-y which is pretty high praise from me. :) Also
VILLIANS OF VOLTURNUS endless quest book a bit childish but then it was aimed at young adults.(using the Eorna time machine from Villains of Volturnus) A. WHAT???!! B. Linky please This is a new one on me. Great Stuff though. I bet that was a lot of fun to play. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 10, 2014 - 8:17pm | The endless quest books set in the Frontier and quasi set in the Frontier are interesting sources for artwork as well but some of the details you wouldn't want to use as rock solid cannon or at least you'd want to think them over. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
February 13, 2014 - 4:14pm | The Eorna time machine is under their control (at least in my game), and the players don't normally have access to it. They made friends with an Eorna during the Volturnus modules, and when the Sathar began to show an interest in this "ultimate weapon", the Eorna expressed an interest in getting rid of it. |
