For an idea of what it could be like, check this space base from the offical Spelljammer fansite, Beyond the Moons:
http://spelljammer.org/worlds/locs/Lionheart/Lionheart.html
So, what do guys think?
Hmmm, I wonder how long ago I wrote that article...got to be getting close to 10 years now! :DAnyways, sure, a DS9-style station can exist in SJ. The question to ask is, what exactly do you want to take from DS9? Visuals, plot, themes, characters?
1st, why does the space spation exist? and which stellar nation build it?
a Elven Imperial outpost? A scro supply base? a neogi slave trade port?
2nd, where ist it? location, location, location!
is it near or far away from civilized spelljammer worlds? what celestial bodies is it near? a nebula, a double stars, a gas giant?
A space station adventure is like an urban adventure different from a dungeon adventure. The adventure comes to the PCs. The pros are that you develloped characters and politics in the long run, the cons is that the space station look the same after awhile.
Pax,
KRad
Anyways, sure, a DS9-style station can exist in SJ. The question to ask is, what exactly do you want to take from DS9? Visuals, plot, themes, characters?
Actually, I like almost everything about DS9. I espically like the way the characters interact with one another. I also like the themes on tolarance (which can be used in this campagin setting; for example a pair of elves could adopt a young drow child as their own or a scro wants to defect). But some changes would have to be made in the story and characters so that a lawsuite wouldn't be made.
http://spelljammer.org/chars/races/Tabaxi.html
http://lost.spelljammer.org/DrawingBoard/xover/startrek/Treladine.html
I also like the secret organisations of various Nations like the Obisidian Order (Cardassia), the Tael Shiar (Romulian), and Section 31 (Federation). Maybe you can include that in your campaign, a elven secret police or a neogi trade guilds spies. something like that.
Great idea!
Nd those are the reasons I loved DS9 as well...
in short, it was /realistic/.
Now we've really gotta do something lyk that.
Well, other than simply changing the high tech to magic and a bit of the visuals, its pretty easy to import deep space nine. Richard Puge, the original moderator of the SJ-List and one of the first SJ webmasters, loved combining Star Trek & SJ. In his campaign, he used tabaxi in place of bejorians, and the treladine trading post in place of deep space nine. Here are the relivant links:
http://spelljammer.org/chars/races/Tabaxi.html
http://lost.spelljammer.org/DrawingBoard/xover/startrek/Treladine.html
I love this, especially the Treladine Outpost.
Because the station is alive, it could have some sort of special properties. I'd say it was slowly grown into its existing shape by the Rama T'Alain. Its living nature could give it a self refreshing air envelope and allow it to slowly recover from "hull point" damage.
It is a shame that Star Trek terms were left in the description. If they had all been replaced then I'd say this base should be on the main Beyond the Moons website.
To continue the DS9 theme the Treladine Oupost should have been recently taken over by the Tabaxi and should be run by an Elven IEN officer. Or maybe the commander could be a former officer from a Sindiath Line (hope I spelled that right) ship. How about a male half-elf who, who had a elf wife who died in the Second Unhuman War (if you have had that part of the timeline already).
Perhaps the only reason that this (Sisco-like) half-elf was first officer on a Sindiath Line ship was that his wife used to be the ship's captain. The elven connection would also be useful because Richard Pughs page for the outpost says they are interested in the station. If the half-elven commander has been the victim of racial harrassment from elves that didn't want a "half-human" in charge of a Sindiath Line ship, then he would have a good reason to stick up for the Tabaxi and stop the elves gaining control of the station!
The half-elven officer could have discovered a wormhole within Trabaspace and moved the station close to the wormhole (thus securing it for the Tabaxi race).
The wormhole should be an inter-planar conduit that connects to a distant sphere. If the interplanar conduit goes through the Astral Plane, Etherial Plane or Shadow Plane then you could create some sort of demi-plane within that plane. The demi-plane could house the superfast conduit and also be home to the gods of the Tabaxi race. Most ships that enter the wormhole can be thrown straight out of the other side (in the other sphere), but the new half-elven commander of Treladine Oupost could find some way to stop in the middle and talk to the gods.
(If you want to make this open with spells then the standard create portal spell would be a good one. It would certainly explain why nobody had discovered the wormhole if it was a portal noone had tried to open in thousands of years.)
You could use one of the spheres of Under the Dark Fist as the sphere at the other end of the wormhole. If you did that then the Emperor Vulkaran should secretly be working for a race of shapeshifting creatures similar to the "Odo-like" creature you are going to use on Treladine Outpost. I'm not sure what race of shapeshifters you could use. Perhaps they could be some variation on the doppelganger.
(A spacefairing doppelganger PC-race would be really interesting - according to the 3e SRD it only needs a +4 level adjustment!)
One of the spheres within The Maelstrom might be a good location as it is fairly hostle and fairly isolated. The only problem with using the Maelstrom is that, as far as I know there is no race of shapeshifting creatures controlling any of it. Maybe, if you are lucky, Mr Druid will rewrite Icespace to put a race of previously enslaved doppelgangers onto the world Pale.
One of the spheres within The Maelstrom might be a good location as it is fairly hostle and fairly isolated. The only problem with using the Maelstrom is that, as far as I know there is no race of shapeshifting creatures controlling any of it. Maybe, if you are lucky, Mr Druid will rewrite Icespace to put a race of previously enslaved doppelgangers onto the world Pale.
LOL...the Maelstrom as the Gamma Quandrant? Eeek ;)
Anyways, don't forget about changlings (Eberron) as well!
Do you think Quark and the Ferengi race could be adapted for this crossover?
One word: Dohwar. ;)
LOL...the Maelstrom as the Gamma Quandrant? Eeek ;)
Anyways, don't forget about changlings (Eberron) as well!
And you could also bring the warforged in as a kind of 'Jem'Hadar-styled' warrior race.