 March 27, 2017 - 2:25pm | Some blue sky speculating but was wondering what others think. Sound off in the comments. (I've also posted this in the Facebook and Google+ groups so keep an eye out for the #reviveStarFrontiers hashtag for other parts of this discussion) If someone were to get the appropriate rights to commercially publish Star Frontiers (or WotC revived the game themselves), what types of materials would you be interested in seeing come out for the game? Re-printed rules? Revised rules? (what would you like to see updated) Setting books? (e.g. describing the worlds of the Frontier) Adventures? Tech guides? (equipment, weapons, vehicles, ships, etc) Bestiaries? I'm sure there are other things that I'm not thinking of but I'm curious where others would put the priority. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
 March 27, 2017 - 3:03pm | More things in the same flavour of Zeb's Guide, I'd say. That is, a book or series of books which introduce a variety of new equipment, skills, professions etc and possibly more stuff on Frontier worlds and places of interest. Seperate bestiaries would be good - I'm thinking of something like 'Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials' mixed in with the kind of details given for the races in Alpha Dawn, Zeb's Guide etc. Adventures are always a good thing to have too, with or without being spread across a campaign setting. |
 March 28, 2017 - 9:04pm | Like I said in the FB group: denounce Zeb's Guide and replace it with something that actually meshes with the canon set. |
March 29, 2017 - 12:34am | I don't see the point of that. There's a lot in Zeb's that is useful (and on the whole we never had any problems with it from several years of using Zeb's in play). It's not as if nothing in Zeb's works and is not completely useable. If things are broken here and there, they can be fixed, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water  IMHO the best thing to do would to grab everything that works from where it was previously published, fixed things that might work, and add in new stuff. |
 March 29, 2017 - 5:29am | What would be best for a new, revised Star Frontiers game: A player's hand book and a referee's manual: that way you're not publishing the Sathar's "secret" hypnotic abilities in the same book that the players need to use all the time. I like the skill mechanics of the Alpha Dawn system, precentage based, but have them based on the ability score -- 1/2 Dexerity for weapons, 1/2 Logic or Intuition for other skills, etc. Some harder skills might be based on 1/3rd or 1/4th of an ability score. However, I suppose I would be open to a more "modern" game mechanic such as the "d20" system though I've never used it. I like the fact there are more skills in Zebs, but you may have noticed with some of my postings, I think there are some skills that should be grouped together. For example, you could have something like this: Computers: Advanced Type: Espionage, Techex, Spacer Pr: Computers: Basic (cannot exceed Basic skill level) This skill allows the operator to perform a more intense search for information that may be hidden in the computer’s memory and overcome security programs. The character may be able to reinforce a computer’s security system if he is present when an active hack is detected. Sub-skill: Display Information Success Rate: ½ LOG + 10% per level - 10% per computer level A character can use this skill to display any information accessed in a mainframe computer's memory in whatever form he wishes: alphabetical, chronological, order of security value, etc. It is especially useful for getting lists of programs that are stored in the computer including personal records and raw, unprocessed data that is recorded on an A/I (Storage) maxiprog. A specialist gets a +20 modifier if he is trying to display information about a program he knows. He can automatically display information about programs he wrote in the computer. If a specialist displays an item successfully, he never needs to roll to display it again with that computer unless it is altered. Sub-skill: Defeating Security Success Rate: ¼ LOG + 10% per level - 10% per program level If a computer has a Computer Security program, characters must break or bypass this program before they can perform any other action except repair. Defeating a security program involves a decoding process that can take a long time. Characters trying to break security must spend 1-10 hours working at the computer. Also, before a specialist tries to manipulate a program, he must find out whether the program itself has any security overrides. A security override will sound an alarm if anyone tries to run, alter or purge the program without first defeating or bypassing the security override. A security override is the same level as the computer's security program. The referee should make the roll to detect a security override secretly, since many programs have no overrides on them. If successful, the Security (Computer) maxiprog is erased. Sub-skill: Reinforcing Security Program Success Rate: ¼ LOG + 3% per level If the computer expert is at a work station or has some kind of remote access to a computer when someone else is trying to break through its security program, he can try to reinforce the computer’s security defenses. Computers: Basic Type: Espionage, Scispec, Techex, Spacer Pr: None for Access & Operate; Robocomkit or a CAC or wiring may be needed for Interface This is the prerequisite computer skill for all other computer skills, whether mainframe, specialized, or bodycomp. It has two sub-skills: Access & Operate and Interface Sub-skill: Access & Operate Success Rate: ½ LOG + 10% per level - 10% per Computer level A character can access and operate various types of computers. The chance to successfully operate a particular type of computer is half the character’s Logic score plus 10 times the expert's level, minus 10 times the computer's level. A roll of 96-00 is an automatic failure. Once a specialist has operated a computer successfully, he can operate that computer anytime unless it has been modified. Sub-skill: Interface Success Rate: ½ LOG + 10% per level - 10% per Computer level Pr: Robocomkit or a CAC or wiring may be needed
With this sub-skill a
character tries to link two computers together, either by connecting their
wiring or through some intermediary device like a Computer Access Computer
(CAC) or a radio link. Once the two computers are linked, the character can
perform all of his known computers skills (except Computers: Bypass Security
and any repairs) from either computer. The computer level used in the skill
check is the highest level of the two computers. The speed of the computer
communications would be that of the lower and slower level. But, if there is a different way, one that is simple and easy to use, that would be good. Joe Cabadas |
March 29, 2017 - 5:48am | What to keep: the Core Four, the classic Frontier setting, the original modules (though they don't need to be reprinted). What to change: the computer and bodycomp rules are rather obsolete. What's needed: rules to build vehicles including alternative powertrains. Sure it seemed neat in the 1980s that you could get 1,000 km off of a battery powered vehicle, but honestly, is every planet and culture going to have parabatteries? Then think of the cost of recharging those batteries -- is it the 1 Credit per SEU "discount" versus the normal 5 Credits per SEU rate? I think a 1972 Ford LTD with 15 mpg with gas at $5 per gallon (if 1 Credit = $1USD) is mroe economical to refuel, though I haen't done the math yet. Every core Frontier world should be detailed. There should be a source book, published later of courese for mroe $$, that gives the details of the main Frontier world including system and planetary maps, details of major geological features, poltics and society, history, major NPCs, etc. This would be better than dribbling out details of different worlds in modules, especially for those referees who want mroe of an urban setting for a campaign. Most of the classic TSR modules are set on worlds that were never listed in the original game -- Alcazzar, Sundown on Star Mist, Dark Side of the Moon (OK, I love this module and it gives an idea of how to handle a settled world, but it's not about one of the original star systems). I would want some explanation of why the Core Four's colonies are off in "the Frontier" and why they aren't "phoning home" anymore. Or, are they really cut off? Does the occassional penal colony ship arrive from Terra with political outcasts bound for Minotaur? Are the Vrusk of the Frontier a more "care free" splinter group from the homeworld's hive culture? (Yes, I know they just look like insects, it doesn't mean they act entirely like insects.) Are the Dralasites from a home world or the big ship floating in the Frontier as Jedion has surmised? Are there DROWlasites? I've enjoyed the fan speculation for the Yazarian Exodus so I'd keep that. Eventually, you need maybe an alien enemies source book -- on the Sathar, Zurraqqor, Clikk and whatever else might be out there. At least one that gives campaign ideas. Eventually some kind of timeline -- if it can be consistent with any modules/adventures that get published. Those are a few random thoughts, not in any priority. Joe Cabadas |
March 29, 2017 - 3:17pm | Oh, an equipment/weapons compendium might be good. As Jedion had posted on Facebook, I'd second giving the Sathar, Zuraqqor and others different technology or weapons that operate differently than the Frontier, including Knight Hawks ships. Joe Cabadas |
March 29, 2017 - 9:50pm | If things are broken here and there, they can be fixed,
Therein lies the problem, there isn't much in Zeb's that DOESN'T need fixing. I for one am thankful that we were spared the further butchering that would have been Volumes 2 & 3. Seriously, the number of errors found in four rule books worth of SF/AD and KH is on par with what was actually done right in one volume of Zeb's. |
March 30, 2017 - 1:20am | If things are broken here and there, they can be fixed,
Therein lies the problem, there isn't much in Zeb's that DOESN'T need fixing. I for one am thankful that we were spared the further butchering that would have been Volumes 2 & 3. Seriously, the number of errors found in four rule books worth of SF/AD and KH is on par with what was actually done right in one volume of Zeb's. I see. From the point of view of my RPG group's use of it (and we used it a lot), we never really had any problems with Zeb's. Even in a recent 6 month campaign, we mashed Alpha Dawn with Zeb's and the only real problem was trying to remember all of it after a break of about 25 years. Perhaps there's some middle ground. Like I said, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water
|
March 30, 2017 - 6:33am | Alpha Dawn = cool setting, interesting creatures, neat (though undeveloped) Frontier history, but limited skill choices and weapons that don't kill right away (though from a player's point of view, not too bad). Zebs = more skill choices (a plus), added weapons and equipment (always good), color codes and column shifts (what the heck?), butchered timeline history (yuck), added races (so-so), a few more developed systems (how about giving more information about the existing ones!), hinted at updates for robots and powered armor (hey, we could have used that), incomplete rules for the new weapons and equipment (what does this electronic discharge warhead really do?), missile weapons that pack way too much power for their cost and weight (why buy a small bomb when a type III missile is far cheaper? Who cares if I don't know how to use it properly?), get you advanced skill learning through microcassette tapes (OK, microcassettes were cool in the 1980s, but really, they had hypno training centers in Alpha Dawn), etc., etc. Joe Cabadas |
March 30, 2017 - 6:59am | FRONTIER noun the extreme limit of civilization beyond which lies wilderness SF/AD & KH does the English language justice by having a lot of undiscovered/unpopulated worlds and brief (if any) descriptions for the settled ones. Meanwhile Zeb's populates EVERY flipping star on the map and throws in descriptions that don't even jibe with what little that was offered in the original rules. I've said it before, they should have called it "Star Civilizations", changed some names along the way, and made it the different game it was obviously intended to be. |
 March 30, 2017 - 1:53pm | AD mechanics are fast play and once you're familiar with them many times you dont need the rule book to run a combat- just Character sheets and dice. Zebs mechanic is requires constant consultation of a table it slows play. Zebs style of skills is fidley and does not add anything to the game. It breaks the subskills into skills and leads to a player thinking they are palying a roboticist and have to be told no you cannot do that action with a robot because you didn't take the proper skills to repair or remove security locks on a robot. The equipment is again fidley with the plethora of CAS scanners and the Chinese menu build your own missile boondogle My judgement is in the core rules Zebs is flawed. Forget it. The setting info yeah some stuff them but again the big arguement is the badly flawed timeline. Star Frontiers is alive and well because there is a large fan base in their 40's to 50's who are on a spectrum of mild nostolgia to rabid fandom (many of us around here are probably more to the right on that). That said we all have the downloads- the scanned copies and the digitally remaster. Some of us have printed and had them bound (comb binding is cheap but not durable) and we also have probably managed to complete our collections of modules through ebay. So simply reprinting the original materials is of little use to the community and many of us may not even bother picking up the reprint although a Print on demand copy probaly wouldn't be a bad idea. For Star Frontiers to continue to be Alive and Well over the next 15-20 years we really should think in terms of bringing in new blood. A new edition will do this. And it will support those of us that will be transitioning from introducing our kids to SF to introducing our grandchildren to SF because some of my gaming materials are showing their age and I avoid using them. Sure a reprint will help with this but ultimately we should pass on the love of the game to new generations. and they will need a new edition. one with a simple unified rules mechanic, updated computer and robot rules, less clunky vehicle combat rules, rules that dont frustrate a new player when he says he wants to have a space ship (I dont mind prerequisites just hate how its done in KHs) and to increase the rules audience the core rule book should not promote the canned setting so strongly. Take it back to what Cook intended: a basic sand box setting that would allow for creativity of players and referee's to do what they imagined. The canned setting is great but It can be a second book. and to eliminate the problems of created by Zebs timeline and setting you'll likely need to eliminate most of whats in Zebs. I say this as a veteran of working on the Zebulon's Guide Expanded project and a veteran of the many discussions on this site concerning the myriad problems with Zebs and how it creates problems with the setting if you use it. sure some few items in the timeline are worth lifting and dont create any problems with the original setting, and some of the cadre and megacorp material is ok and is technically lifted from KHs or Dragon articles so that's not much of a problem. New Modules!!! Again we all have the downloads. If you have the abiltiy to print new materials then print new modules _ some can be generic to fit in any sci fi game (which is smart) and some can be rooted unabashedly in the canned setting. The answer to the above questions is rooted in what do you desire: being nostolgic about a game you loved and played 35 years ago or do you want to see the game prosper and not be a footnote in the history of Dungeon's and Dragons decades from now when people are still playing D&D but not SF? If you only want to be nostolgic then just put out reprints. I'd rather see the game grow and move on. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 30, 2017 - 2:32pm | I agree that you want something that will attract a new generation of gamers to a new Star Frontiers setting. Joe Cabadas |
March 30, 2017 - 6:34pm | I would love an updated rule set, I could even go for separate Players Handbook & GM Guide as mentioned up-thread...but it would have to be kept simple like the D&D Boxed Sets. The most I would want to see is 64 page PH & GM Guides, with 32 page supplements each featuring vehicles, space ships, creatures, civilized worlds (complete with a Frontier sector map), etc...take a page from Traveller and have the two rulebooks being the basis for any game and the supplements, while not being mandatory, simply add more flavor to the game (i.e. the GM Guide & PH would have basic rules for each of those supplements and a few samples printed, but the supplements would be a "rogue's gallery" for each sub-class). Publish/print them all separately and offer a coinciding boxed set that has both rule books, dice, and a module. But if it goes the 450+ page route that 1e AD&D did with the PH/DMG/MM...count me out. I would rather spend my time playing/GMing versus constantly consulting a myriad of rulebooks (which, as mentioned above, is yet another flaw behind Zeb's Guide). Most importantly, they would have to resolve what I feel is the original rule set's biggest flaw and drum up a better title for the GM than "referee".  |
March 30, 2017 - 7:53pm | Yes, I'd like GM rather than referee. I feel like I should be officiating at a football game. Joe Cabadas |
 March 30, 2017 - 10:36pm | Some really good posts - I am enjoying the read. So, i hate to be the one to kick over the hornets nest but isn't this kind of a moot point since WOTC / Hasbro is almost as bad as CBS Paramont (See Star Trek Fan Film Guidelines and the Axanar Law Suit if you really want to loose your lunch) in holding hostage an IP that they are never going to do anything with? Unless something has changed... Anyway, everyone hit upon what would be great in a reprint. I would nix anything to do with Zebs too... sooner or later everyone eventually hates Zebs in one way or another. The only thing i use it for is to rob ideas for source material and re-write it with house rules. I treat Zebs in the same way that most folks look at the 2001 and 2010 movie based modules... sure its great for ideas and might be fun to run if you have nothing better to do but in general they fit in like teal socks worn with a brown suit. |
 March 31, 2017 - 4:55am | I doubt a lot of Zeus would be kept... just looking through how any d&d has changed on just dwarves... or the card thing in the 4E games which I totally missed 100%, if SF was still in print there probably would have been a card collecting thing in that time period. They might say in this period kill the original setting like they did in d&d and reboot the universe for SF too... as there seems to be an idea that the fans of certain settings are a hinderance... I disagree to a point, but I do Know some folks are cannon qouters and that is a hassle sometimes for game designers, but to be expected... not really a valid reason to kill a setting imo... but now d&d only has 2 official worlds. But nothing wrong with home brew. ???? "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
March 31, 2017 - 4:57am | Zebs not Zeus... auto correct "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
March 31, 2017 - 6:51am | Zebs not Zeus... auto correct
 Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 7:21am | Personally I'd probably prefer Zeus's Guide over Zeb's I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 31, 2017 - 7:25am | I would change the setting and simply claim that when Professor Zebulon transmitted his Guide via subspace that a feed back loop in the carrier wave caused corruption of the data and simply insist with a straight face that the Jedion's Guide to the Frontier is the true and accutrate setting. There would be some map changes too. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 31, 2017 - 7:46am | I would change the setting and simply claim that when Professor Zebulon transmitted his Guide via subspace that a feed back loop in the carrier wave caused corruption of the data and simply insist with a straight face that the Jedion's Guide to the Frontier is the true and accutrate setting.
There would be some map changes too. I'd accept Jedion's Guide to the Frontier a lot more than Zebs. Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 8:03am | One observation about Star Frontiers and charts... do you realize all the charts that were in the Alpha Dawn system that you have to reference? Not just the vehicle chart, but there's the Combat Sequence Table, the Structural Damage Table, Ranged Weapon Hit Procedure Table, Cover Example Table, Grenade Bounce Table, Melee Weapon Hit Procedure Table, Punching Score Table, Average Herivore/Omnivore/Carnivore Table, Avoidance Roll Table, the Speed Conversion Table (kph/mph), Turn Speed Table, Vehicle Control Table, Vehicle Collision Damage to Passengers Table, Vehicle Damage Table, Aerial Combat Modifiers Table, and the Aerial Vehicle Damage Table, just to name a few. Then there's the standard AD weapons' charts. All needed things, but then there's the stuff from Dragon Magazine, the Tank's a Lot! tables, the tables from Here Comes the Cavalry, the tables from the Going for a Swim article (and the Balneum Blue module in Star Frontiersman issue 25). There's the Knight Hawks table for the spacesuit armor, which is very complicated, and the table for patching holes in your space suit. The story "From Frieghters to Flying Boats" offers yet more tables for handling sea combat. Tables in Knight Hawks for combat... Some guy named Tom Verreault wrote this wonderful "Exploding Dice" story -- which I printed a copy of and put in my game master's binder -- for handing automatic hits and misses... those were more tables. Larry Moore and Richard "Shadow Shack" Rose penned a couple fabulous vehicle stories in Star Frontiersman Magazine issue 15 with, guess what, more tables. Grantd the Zeb's color code, column shift tables are the worst of the lot, though I'd say the Dragon story on powered armor has some of the worst descriptions that I've seen for the game: 1. Check if the weapon penetrated the armor. If so, additional suit damage may have occurred. (The nature of this damage will be checked later on Table 7.) Character damage also results. If not, no character damage results. 2. Check if damage to the armor occurs. Subtract the number rolled from the number needed to hit for the difference. If the difference is equal to or greater than 35, then additional damage to the suit?s functions has occurred. 3. Add the number of dice of damage caused by the weapon to a 2d10 die roll. 4. Divide the percentage of protection by 5, then multiply the quotient by 2. Subtract the product from the sum in step 3. 5. Consult Table 7. Apply the results next turn. 6. Roll for normal damage to the character, reducing the damage by half; reduce it by one-quarter if using a powerscreen effective against that weapon type. Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 8:14am | That being said, we're all guilty of adding tables and rules to the basic game set, which if you try combining every combat rule into one document -- which I am fruitlessly working on -- you end up with 150+ pages! Granted, I like throwing in some artwork so it's not all gray text and I use a far larger font size than the 6 or 7 point they used for the original Alpha Dawn books. Hey, I'm using 10 point Arial font. My eyes aren't what they used to be. So, yeah, a short, basic player's handbook and referee's book would be good, but then you'll want all the supplements... of course, that's how game companies made their money back in the day. I played Star Fleet Battles for uncounted sessions, so I'm not afraid of charts, though I'm not eager to have a rulebook where every paragraph is numbered with section numbers like it's the Bible. Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 8:53am | Despite all the charts that do exist in the game I still contend that most combat can be done with character sheets and dice and no referencing of the book once you're familiar with the game. And the digitally remastered quick reference guide makes it exceedingly easy to run a game without consulting the book. I've run two complete separate combats with exploration activity inbetween in 30 minutes. It blew my mind because at that point the regular DM finally showed up and we got back to the weekly D&D game (edition 3.5) and we only got through one combat in 4 hours. Star Frontiers is fast play. and this is a awesome positive in the game's favor. EDIT: That the quick reference guide is something that should be included in a new issue of the game. They are so handy. use the same cover as for the rule book but with a smaller picture and a wide border which will identify it with the rules its goes with visually but also the wide border is the visual cue that this is the quick reference guide. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 31, 2017 - 9:59am | Despite all the charts that do exist in the game I still contend that most combat can be done with character sheets and dice and no referencing of the book once you're familiar with the game. ...
Agreed! Joe Cabadas |
 March 31, 2017 - 11:03am | My ultimate Star Frontiers would be a 4 book hardbound set laid out as such: Merge SF basic, SF expanded, KH Tactical, KH Campaign, Zebs with its content marked as optional or example as the three core books, with a massive compendium of a campaign as the Adventures themselves. Mix in Dragon, Ares, Polyhedron, Frontier Explorer, Star Frontiersman and more, using the various "canonicity" scales discussed around here as you like. Me, I'd call AD and KH "canon" and everything else "options" for refs to flavor their SF campaigns as they please. I'd just organize it all as canon/options using the following framework: *************************** *** SETTING GUIDE *** What is ...? *************************** ALPHA SECTION: WHAT IS STAR FRONTIERS? BETA SECTION: HISTORY OF THE FRONTIER / TIMELINE GAMMA SECTION: FRONTIER MAP / WORLDS DELTA SECTION: SPECIES EPSILON SECTION: CORPORATIONS / INSTITUTIONS / SOCIETY ZETA SECTION: TECHNOLOGY / EQUIPMENT / COMPUTERS / ROBOTS / VEHICLES / STATIONS *************************** *** PLAYER GUIDE *** RULES: How do players ...? *************************** ETA SECTION: ROLEPLAYING / HOW TO PLAY / EXAMPLE OF PLAY THETA SECTION: CREATING ADVENTURERS IOTA SECTION: WHAT CAN I DO IN STAR FRONTIERS? SKILLS / TASKS KAPPA SECTION: NPC REACTIONS / SOCIAL CONFLICT / PERSUASION / HYPNOSIS LAMBDA SECTION: MELEE CONFLICT MU SECTION: RANGED CONFLICT NU SECTION: VEHICLE CONFLICT XI SECTION: MINING / TRADE / SPACE CONFLICT / INTERFACE / ORBITAL / SYSTEM / INTERSTELLAR OMICRON SECTION: PROGRESS **************************** *** REFEREE GUIDE *** CREATION: How do referees ...? **************************** PI SECTION: CREATING NPCS, SPECIES, CREATURES RHO SECTION: CREATING EQUIPMENT SIGMA SECTION: CREATING COMPUTERS, ROBOTS TAU SECTION: CREATING MELEE, RANGED WEAPONS UPSILON SECTION: CREATING VEHICLES, SPACECRAFT PHI SECTION: CREATING STATIONS, STRUCTURES CHI SECTION: CREATING SECTORS, SYSTEMS, WORLDS PSI SECTION: CREATING ENCOUNTERS, TASKS, SKILLS OMEGA SECTION: CREATING MISSIONS, ADVENTURES, CAMPAIGNS *************************** *** ADVENTURE GUIDE *************************** The original adventures (Except 2001/2010 licensed content) as a single playable campaign. 48 Adventures/Scenarios / 99 Encounters --- ERA: PRE-UPF --- --- ERA: PF3-FY0 FIRST SATHAR WAR --- --- ERA: UPF --- ADB-9 Adventure 1 Pan-Galactic Security Breach - Prengar Gran Quivera Port Loren ADB-13 Adventure 2 Alien on the Loose - Prengar Gran Quivera Port Loren ADB-15 Creating Your Own Adventure: Crash on Desert Planet - TBD ADB-16 Strange Disease - TBD ADB-16 Ancient Artifact - TBD ADB-16 Murdered Delegates - TBD ADB-16 Abandoned Alien City Ship - TBD ADE-58 Sample Adventure - TBD --- ERA: SECOND SATHAR WAR --- SF0 Crash on Volturnus A B C D E F - Zebulon Volturnus SF1 Volturnus, Planet of Mystery A B C D E F - Zebulon Volturnus SF2 Starspawn of Volturnus A B C D E F G - Zebulon Volturnus SFAC2-3 Assault on Starship Omicron: Sathar SFAC2-3 Assault on Starship Omicron: Rogue Robot SFKH0-5 Warriors of White Light: Smugglers A B C - White Light SFKH0-11 Warriors of White Light: Cybernetic Hijacker D - White Light SFKH0-13 Warriors of White Light: Pirates of Planaron E - White Light SFKH0-15 Warriors of White Light: The Traitor F - White Light SFKH0-16 Warriors of White Light: Battle of White Light G - White Light KHUPFB1-8 Surprise Attack - K'aken-Kar Ken'zah Kit KHUPFB2-9 Battle of Fortress Kdikit - Madderly's Star Kdikit KHUPFA1-15 Close Escort - K'aken-Kar Ken'zah Kit KHUPFA2-16 The Stand - K'aken-Kar Ken'zah Kit KHCB-55 Second Sathar War - * KHCB-52 Fleet Battles: Sathar Blood Raid - TBD KHCB-52 Fleet Battles: Pursuit of Sathar Raiders - TBD KHCB-52 Fleet Battles: Interception of Sathar Spy Ships - TBD KHCB-52 Fleet Battles: Sabotage - TBD KHCB-53 Blockade Running Break Sathar Siege - TBD --- ERA: FY61 POST SECOND SATHAR WAR --- SFKH1 Dramune Run A B C D E - Dramune Inner Reach Outer Reach SF3 Sundown on Starmist A B C D E - Sundown Starmist SF4 Mission to Alcazzar A B C D E F - Rihanna Alcazzar SFAD5 Bugs in the System A B C D - Belnafaer Venturi SFAD6 Dark Side of the Moon A B C D E - Tristkar Kraatar KHCB-52 Raids: Pirate Outpost - TBD KHCB-52 Raids: Boarding and Sabotage Operations - TBD KHCB-52 Rescue: Captured Corporate Exec - TBD KHCB-52 Rescue: Planetary Leader Hostage - TBD KHCB-52 Rescue: Pirate Slaves - TBD KHCB-53 Blockade Running Dictator Blockade - TBD KHCB-53 Escorting Civilians: Exploring Route - TBD KHCB-53 Escorting Civilians: Pirate Plague - TBD KHCB-54 Drifting Hulks Collision Course Frontier - TBD KHCB-54 Drifting Hulks Collision Course Alien - TBD KHCB-54 Robot Ships - TBD KHCB-54 Contacting Aliens - TBD --- ERA: FY71 BEYOND THE FRONTIER --- SFKH2 Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes A B C D - Waller Nexus FS24 Mahg Mar SFKH3 Face of the Enemy A B C D E - Waller Nexus FS24 Mahg Mar SFKH4 The War Machine A B C D E F G H - Liberty FS30 Snowball --- ERA: FY110 ZEBULONS GUIDE --- |
March 31, 2017 - 11:08am | Not a bad wish list, though I always envisioned that most of the published modules were before the Second Sathar War. But, that's a small disagreement. I like the idea of having the Second Sathar War a lot closer to the Volturnus modules than Zebs' idea. Oh, I guess one other item to my wish list would be offering a progression of technology. For example, is the 50-point skeinsuit the top of inertia protection? They can't have an 80-point civilian skeinsuit by 111 FY (or whatever time system you want to use). Does that 100 SEU backpack still weigh a ton and half or do they have a slimline version? Is that Ke-whatever laser pistol the same thing it was in 3 PF as it is in 50 FY or 111 FY? The progression of technology would fit with my equipment/weapons compendium idea. Oh, wait, my comments are starting to read like Traveller... Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 5:43pm | That's pretty funny Joe, because I've been noodling around with assigning UWP to the Frontier worlds as a way to adding some differentiation to them - different government types and law levels and to a degree tech levels based on the industrial, agricultural, resource codes. Laying out specifics for world sizes on the rest, as well as atmospherics and hydrographics would round out the basic world profiles that were not already covered by module system briefs. As far as my outline, I basically anchor everything on "Dramune Run" which included Zebulon system/Volturnus on the map. The idea too was that the core sample modules occurred before add-ons... so SF0 and SFKH-0 anchor things - putting both in the Second Sathar War only made sense to me, since the basic game had the sathar doing some covert stuff, then the Volturnus module had then going more overt... and the SFKH-0 scenarios had some covert Sathar followed by the overt invasion of the tactical book scenarios and campaign book strategic game. So, to me, Dramune Run comes after that... and the map with Dramune Run does not have Sundown, Rihanna, or Belnafaer systems marked - so to me they came after Dramune Run. Finally, the Beyond the Frontier stories are "10 years after the SSW" according to the back cover. So anyway, that's pretty much how I put my timeline together. The "ERAS" notes in my timeline are sort of an attempt to get a Traveller style tech levels - I can just look at what was available for a given era and call it done. |
March 31, 2017 - 6:19pm | Ah, I haven't read the back cover of the Beyond the Frontier modules in a while. I'll have to do that. Your rationale makes a bit of sense. Tch in her timeline project has the Volturnus modules as the opening of Second Sathar War. Practically everything TSR had published before Zebs pointed at SWII occurring sometime around the modules. I'm not sure I'd care to use anything from the Zebs' version of SWII, though if you wanted to include the Rim Coalition, contact would probably be made with them during the war. You could have a third Sathar war around the time that Zebs put the second one. Joe Cabadas |
March 31, 2017 - 6:51pm | One observation about Star Frontiers and charts... do you realize all the charts that were in the Alpha Dawn system that you have to reference? Not just the vehicle chart, but there's the Combat Sequence Table, the Structural Damage Table, Ranged Weapon Hit Procedure Table, Cover Example Table, Grenade Bounce Table, Melee Weapon Hit Procedure Table, Punching Score Table, Average Herivore/Omnivore/Carnivore Table, Avoidance Roll Table, the Speed Conversion Table (kph/mph), Turn Speed Table, Vehicle Control Table, Vehicle Collision Damage to Passengers Table, Vehicle Damage Table, Aerial Combat Modifiers Table, and the Aerial Vehicle Damage Table, just to name a few. Most of which are listed in the handy dandy Referee Screen. Granted it would have been nice to have a SF/KH screen. There's an easy way to dodge all the tables though...spec everything out on the character sheets and in the adventure itself. Plug & play. As for the rest of that post: optional rules. Simply replace the old tables with the new tables, and again spec the PC sheets and adventure for more plug & play fun. |
