It's pretty much a scientific version of spelljammer where the ships are hightech, for the most part, but the tech has an arcane and divine flavor.
Fantasy worlds are pretty much technologically set around the darkages and/or around the rise of the Renaissance. So it's not much of a reach to immagine that if they continue to develop technologically that modernscience and beyond would rise. You can even have low magic worlds with high tech and low tech with high "Eberron' magic, even a few low tech/low magic with highly advanced psionics.
Just replace the spheres with space and the Prime could be our universe, or one quite similiar.
Story wise the galaxy is mainly collected under the Dragon empire((all the colored breeds of dragon ally into clans and after a massive war decide to rule, each color has 1000 yrs of rule, good for 5000 yrs evil for 5000.)) The story starts 40yrs into the reign of the 1st Red Dragon Emperor; Drow secret police, an expansionistic advance upon outlying unallied worlds.
Space ships instead of helmed ships, then again a wizard or 2 who are strong enough could possibly create a few powerful arcane ships.
The story is alright, it has it's holes, but what outline doesn't. So, right now you got a "supreme" villian and the drow secret poice? 1: What are "Drow Secret Police"? 2: What do they do? and 3: Are they evil?
What i see that you need is a villian closer to the party's station in life.
what do they do? Serve the Throne, what ever a Red Dragon who rules a Galaxy would want them to do.
OK so what do the players do? You can have standard fantsy heroes, even from the standard worlds. Add a few aliens, a few altered stereotypes of both fantasy and scifi. are the heroes adventurers and explorers, archeologists and treasureseekers, 'rumrunners' and smugglers, bountyhunters and soldiers for hire...
One idea i had was to have the All Systems University; a College stationed upon the moon of the Imperial Throneworld, Draconis Prime. a Vast Megacity sized University that offers training in both arcane and scientific fields.
The All Systems Library; a complex so vast that Librarians are not employees but members of a multigenerational Order dedicated to collecting and preserving a record of any written text from any of the known worlds.
Special Collections Division of the All Systems Library; an odd blend of scholars and mercenaries, These men and women wander the Spaceways seeking information. they take any required action to insure that their parcels are returned to the library. (( now here's an easy means of getting the group together. Offers many adventures just when looking for knowledge. Now just imagine when the possessors of said information don't want it released?))
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/dragonstar.html
it's sad what a guy thinks up when reading the basics offered on the sight...or is it scary. LOL
I know my players, 1 will play a wizard from a low tech world probably a human. 2 will play a soulmech pilot(soulmechs are high tech golems powered and controlled by a gem containing the soul of a formerly living humanoid) since he's been dying to play an android in my current gammaworld((post apocalyptic sci-fi))game. 3 will definately play a halfdragon aritsocrat who is currently leading the group((He likes to play royalty, sort of a napoleon thing)). 4 will as usual play a cleric.
The reasons for the group's travels will be stated when my players come together to roll up their Cs. No matter, they'll end up coming upon a deralict space station in orbit around a gas giant and will either run a rescue mission or will board to salvage, again I know my players.I plan to run them through a space station version of resident evil. The Station was a drow arcane bio-research vessel, experimenting in creating weapons grade crystalized negative energy. The labs had a leak and the station's staff slowly mutated, die reanimated as a vast array of undead and then continued to mutate before the Neg energy dissipates.
I'll probably run them through the station as they seek:medicine, food, weapons, survivors, money a way off....take your pick probably all of the above.
Yeah, a simple mission.
wasn't impressed
you have starships (which from what i saw were kinda a side note...)
you have techie guns...
all the other goodness of sci fi
plopped like a lump atop a fantasy setting...
the whole "dragon emperor" thing and his drow empire just kinda say "it's like FR wherever you go..."
which does not give me the warm fuzzies...
firearms rules were tolerable...
some of the new races were OK....
but you're just buying the setting for the most part,
'cause they don't really add anything that's not in the DMG...
to me, it just didn't have the fantastical view that SJ and wildspace has...
to much Sci not enough Fi
Special Collections Division of the All Systems Library; an odd blend of scholars and mercenaries, These men and women wander the Spaceways seeking information. they take any required action to insure that their parcels are returned to the library.
Sounds kind of like the Omnet from the Starshield universe created by Tracy Hickman. I haven't read the novels, but some years back there was a failed attempt to created a shared-universe RPG/empire-building game. (The beta version of the RPG rules is available from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starshield-rpg/ if you want to check it out.) Anyway, the Omnet is an independent news organization that gathers information from all over the galaxy and uses it to try to manipulate events to follow a grand plan devised by a group of ancient artificial intelligences that control the organization from behind the scenes. They have a diplomatic arm, an administrative arm, a military arm, "sifters" to collate and analyze the data collected, and the Vestis Inquisitis (which PCs are assumed to belong to by default) is the branch responsible for information gathering and general trouble-shooting. It's kind of like a mix of Starfleet, CNN, the United Nations and the Men in Black.
Wyvern
I think I'll use the 'Ansible' idea from the Ender series for communications on a galactic scale. The 'Ansible' was designed from the hivemind of an insectoid alien race, sort of like the Kreen. It allows for mass broadcasts and one on one transmissions over a vast distance; this allows for me to play with popculture toss out a few ansiblePrograms that the characters would watch during downtime.
The majority or worlds have the standard mish-mash of the breeds; dwarf, elf, halfling, human and so on. Each keeping the others in check and the populations under control. But occasionally a 'homeworld' is found; An elfworld, a dwarfworld and so forth. With no interactions in their history through the ages a truly native culture grows.
Elfworlds-stand in sharp contrast, as the technological level rises elves seem to reflexively pull in. Massive, gleaming cities and just over the horizon pristine untouched wilderness. Elven cities offer the greatest of technological advances yet elves are more than content to dwell in villiages and hamlets keeping only the rare technological device.
Elves are proud of the fact that the Constitutional Monarchies/Republics they forge function with great efficiency, their massive beaurocracies function perfectly as elven patience combined with a love of subtlety and grace has resulted in a race of skilled wizard/paperpushers.
Dwarfworlds- resemble elfworlds in many ways. Their massive cities gleam with perfection but all are built deep into the mountain ranges. The rare Dwarven druid keeps any possible taint of industry from poisoning nature.
Dwarven culture embraces their clan roots with great relish, while the clans battle each other over petty and serious deals alike they all yield to the will of the council of clans. The Council of Clans his composed of the elder of each clan, these elders choose the wisest and strongest of these elders to lead as Chancellor. The Highlight of dwarven civilization is their runic tech: Enchanted Automail cybernetic systems, martial weapons of a sofistication other races reserve only for tools of knowledge, elegant cityships resembling the hammers of old housing the clans as they wander the spaceways.
Do not get me wrong a gnomeworld is not one of vast beauty, but one of insane scope and design, their science and their deep love of magic and illusion results in a glorious blend of brilliance and madness.
Gnome society rules by Meritocracy, the brilliant and skilled rule for they are brilliant and skilled, if a gnome has no inspiration then that gnome has no right to effect society.
Halflings, The Hin, are a calm and casual race and even as their culture advances few innovations are made unless it can be incorperated into day to day life. The Hin have an almost unique mental state, a total lack of the concept of Possession. Property is a foreign concept to Hin, even amonst those who walk with the 'Tall' it is a learned trait. In The Hin's tongue, any word form that could be seen by outsiders to represent possession is actually a Hin grammarical expression of use; when not in use any item 'possessed' is redefined as an item in 'use' of itself.
This mental and cultural quirk leads to another unique trait politically. Across the worlds, again and again, the idea of socialism and communism is birthed. This political experiment fails again and again as it 1st must program a desire to 'possess' out of individuals. As this is impossible, Galactic historians have observed the 'socialist dream' shatter again and again, but on all Three Hinworlds these systems not only developed quickly but last effectively.
Many a historian and theoretical political philosopher has studied the Hin system in awe, a functioning orderly 'anarchist' state. The Hin have realized and stated that the nobles and vapitalists of the Empire have nothing to fear, they understand that no other entient race can achieve this ideal state and they will make no efforts to take action to see otherwise. In fact, they are quite happy to 'submit' to Imperial oversight as this offers those Hin struck with their famous 'Wanderlust' to travel the Galaxy safely.
Now, since you posted this to the SJ boards, I assume you want some SJ-style to DrSt, so I'll just throw some things out.
* For elfworlds, I'd suggest something like Myth Drannor at its height, planet-wide. Heck, do what I did with the elfworld in Twilitespace: use the high magic ritual "hidden homeland" to hide whole worlds, even whole solar systems. The ritual would bewilder any sensor, magic or tech, and prevent the Empire from really finding any major elf homeworlds. The ritual causes ships to go off course, passing whole planets by without even realizing it.
* Toss in the Elven Imperial Navy as a minor annoyance to the Empire. The EIN ships are rare, but magically potent. Worst, they have a habit of slipping by undetected (again, those high magic rituals). The elves wouldn't normally act directly against the Empire, instead working behind the scenes to cause trouble. I'd even go so far as to divide elves into "high" and "low" races, the high races being not unlike Elmarin (sp? Shide-like guys) from Planescape, while low races more resemble common elves.
* Play up the Dwarven citadels from SJ. Dwarves travel around in asteroid-cities the size of Manhatten Island, with populations in the millions. Each one is a sovereign kingdom. In these well-defended asteroid cities, the dwarves are all but invulnerable, even against Imperial aggression. Most would be semi-independent, but tolerated because they produce some of the best weapons, armor, and other industrial goods around.
* Steal the scro to create a breed of fanatic orcs. I'd probably dump the semi-nazi nature of them, instead making them fanatics to a cause instead of the concept of the "master race". Most would be F3 at least. I think I'd make them guntotters, loving big explosions & bullet-firing weapons. They'd distain "elegant" weapons like lazers. Think the guys from the Fifth Element.
That's all I have for the moment. If I think of anything else later I'll let you know
In fact I was planning to use a few Elven kingdoms hidden away in nebulas and with systems hidden through potent and highly involved ritual magics. With elven relations with nature and magic I'd love to toss out some evolved flora elven ships. thus offering food and life support as well as a natural repair system.
Definately have Dwarven citadels, massive astroid mining colonies, hell that's how I was planning to use Clan hammers anyway. Entire Dwarven clans and kingdoms roaming the spaceways in rogue moons, hollowed out to provide space for the clan to live and work....
For the Orcs or Scro, nothing better than a few thousand rifle toting sco barbarians questing and taking part in acts of piracy and genocide in the name of their new Warboss prophet Groll the Plaguebearer.
I had a few opposition parties in mind to stand against the Dragon Empire.
Jade Consortium-pretty much the cultures and races represented in the oriental adventures book developed into a consortium of 100 systems standing in defience of the Empire. Ruled by their own royal lines. The Gem Dragons, currently under the rule of the Jade Dragonlord Kenshira.
The Collective-An Illithid collective of several hundred worlds, they have a strictly defined border that the Imperial Legions have aggressively protected. Rules the non mindflayer citizens less like people and more like the cattleslaves that they are. The Illithid have recently begun experiements in genetic and arcane engineering to develop a race of warriors capable of breaking though the 3000 yr, long held border.
The Hives- hidden deep in the nebula known as the Eye, a massive collection of beholder hives and their slaves wage a war not only against each other but any who dare enter the Eye for it's fabled hidden riches in jeweled asteroids.
The Necron- one of several Ancient races, the Necron are considered long since extinct. In fact, the race as a whole embraced undeath as liches in order to avoid their own extinction. The Necron have slept for eons and their once abandoned worlds are now occupied by hundreds of civilizations.
Plan on having the players awaken the Necron when they discover one of their lost relics.
The Neogi-On the far border of the region known as the Outlands lie the territories of the Neogi where you either own or are owned. entire worlds fall under the possession of individual Neogi.
Followers of the Rage-An influential cult posing as a self help organization preaching the acceptance of all emotional states, resisting any concept of good and evil, order and chaos. In truth the leaders of the Ragers seek to open a legendary portal into the infernal planes, releasing their dark and horrible lords.
The Colonies- a quaint euphemism, in truth the colonies are a set of guarded camps containing what many believe to be the majority of the goblinoid races. Thoughout the history of the Empire a constant series of wars have waged between the Scro and Goblins against the Might of the Impirial Legions. While the Scro have excaped into the outlands their goblinoid allies are currently held captive upon 7 worlds in the Abyssin system. outside the goblinoids who have again and again swore allegience to the empire and the populous of the varied low tech unconquered worlds, the worlds of Abyssin hold the whole of the Goblin, bugbear, Blue Goblin and Hobgoblin races in 'restricted travel confinement.'
If you've got it, I'd definately use the dragon pantheon in favor of the exceptionally generic & bland one presented in DrSt. I'd also use your favorite pantheons as well, or make up a new one.
Now the hard part. The real danger in a space setting is getting caught up in the details and going overboard; believe me, I know
So here's how I'd approach things:Start small. Make a single solar system to start off with, one fairly recently conquered by the Empire. I'd have the PCs start there, probably as members of "the Rebellion", who sent them to this backwater to get their feet wet freeing it from Imperial rule. That way they have an opportunity to get a feel for the setting without getting overwhelmed.
Only include a few things, and slowly build. For example, the primary planet has been conquered, probably nuked, given the wuss-factor of the Empire for using nukes to soften up targets instead of facing them in a straight up fight ;) The planet would have an orc garrison, with a drow general. Half-dragon nobles have recently settled and are busy carving out their petty fiefs. There is a dwarf ship in-system, a tempting target, but the army needs reinforcements to tackle it. Also, unknown to all, an elf ship is out there, aiding rebels (think LotR, where the elves gave gifts to the Fellowship). Add to this some neogi & scro pirates and maybe one other faction.
Thus, the factions might include:
The army - orcs & drow
Nobles - half dragons
Free city - dwarf asteroid citadel
Hidden help - elven ship
Pirates - scro & neogi
That should be enough for a few levels & months of gameplay
Edit: ACK! Forgot something in my haste. I'd also add a hidden danger as well: nuclear undead. A lich could be out there gathering an army of undead that were spawned by the nuking of the primary world. That could be a threat that reveals itself slowly over the course of the campaign, eventually resulting in a nice high-level fight between the PCs and the lich (with the backdrop of the orc & undead armies going at it). Teach those Imperials not to nuke worlds from orbit...its NOT always the only way to be sure...:D
My players are likely to want to play Imperials, or even a mix of loyal Imperials and resistant.
The one thing I don't want to do is make the empire a massive utterly evil order. Even with the current red dragon emperor being more or less stereotypically evil, the players will have to, At the worst of times, deal with maybe a halfdragon noble. And I've already decided that draconic decent will have no effect in regards of alignment; Character and personal politics will be the prevailing influence as the nobles have interbred for eons now, arranged marriages and all.
For good or bad, the Empire will be the most comfortable choice in Governments. Outside of individual rogue worlds and undiscovered systems, the only other Galactic government of any agreeable temperment is the Jade Consortium and they border on xenophobic.
Are we talking about army against army here?
The same old hack and slash toped with the required iceing of a good DM to fleash out the periods between blood and gore?
And i have read some speculation about ship to ship combat, is it definitive in Dragonstar or will i need to modify it for simplicity?
The FFG board i was reading from appeared to be quite old in the posting dates.
Once again i love your work Nightdruid. your last post on this thread is so close to what i have been working on for over a year. Just needed to lock down a functional battle system. Think DS will do that or should i continue to wait for the next RPG to come along? Looking forward to getting a campaign running again and throw in a couple of your moons of the month :D
Ok, going from memory here, but DrSt does have a ship-to-ship combat system. I don't know how well it plays, but I think it will serve for most purposes (but since DrSt was an early d20 product, I wouldn't strain it too hard; it may have some quirks between it and 3.5e). Starwars also has a ship v ship system; if you go that route, get the revised book, not the first one. The first incarnation of that system was junk from what I understand, but was greatly improved in the revised book. Of course, you could always wait 4 more months for Revenge of the Sith to come out and get the revised-revised book that is inevitable.
For army v army combat, I *think* WotC is coming out with something for mass combat soon, but I haven't looked at a D&D release schedule in years. I think the minis handbook has mass combat in it as well, but remember, those are for fantasy combat, not guns & nukes ;)
I'm not good at judging which system is better, since I have not played any of them, so I suggest finding some second opinions on that matter.
And I'm working on a new MotM; Dec/Jan were just killers on me. Should have one for Feb!
Was actually thinking the other end of the spectrum.
My players are likely to want to play Imperials, or even a mix of loyal Imperials and resistant.
Well, that doesn't chance too much; just make the PCs agents of some half-dragon and play up the piracy and political espionoge angles. There's no reason the PCs still couldn't come into conflict with the army; there's weeding out corrupt officers, inflitrating bases to get vital info said sponsor needs for whatever reason, etc. The sponsor could either want to help the dwarves, or heck, want to get his agents (the PCs) in first to grab the best goods right out from the nose of the army.
The book has some decent space combat but I've been planning to use the revised star wars or D20 future information for the combat sequences...when I get my books next week I'll comment more upon piloting in Dragonstar.
I've never done a hack/slash dungeon crawl game. More than likely I'll run thier chosen backgrounds individually and groupwise....let their C's live their lives only to be accidently cought up in some insane situations.
Hell I wouldn't have it any other way But to toss them against a corrupt Drow ISPD officer or Halfdragon Commander....The fun will be having them develop a long standing professional relationship with said scumbag beforehand. Nothing better than finding out those shipments of personal effects their dear friend Commadant Grendell sent them to pick up where, in fact, a horde of alien beasties in stasis that he was planning to use to take out a political opponent. Now look, they seem to have been reported as pirates. Time to run..... LOL I'm such an evil GM sometimes.
nuclear lich......That's got to be a band name somewhere in the multiverse.
Hell that's my plans for the Necron angle(( use the backstory of the race from Warhammer 40k and 'magic' it up a bit.))
The crew finds a derilict ship floating deep in the void of space, they board and find all sorts of goodies including a beautiful jewel encrusted golden sarcophacus. It cannot be opened but, as they will undoubtedly plan to sell it anyway no worries. A few days later They hear a disturbance in the cargo bay and have to fight of a radioactive undead with a ton of power.....I'll fudge the story so they survive and if and whwen the they study it they watch in amazement as it fades away as does the sarcophacus. Over the next few weeks the crew hears stories over the Ancible of various undead incursions in a few backwater worlds.....then nothing more of it. Make em all suspicious-like....
all the while run them though a campaign of odd jobs, quests of exploration. Doing good as it needs doing, that sort of thing.
The Royal Marshal Service-organized millenia ago under the Golden Kingdom of the Metallic dragons, the Marshals are a devouted and skilled collection of paladins, soldiers and rangers trained and oathbound to honor and justice in it's truest forms. Even the Iron Kingdom of the Chromatic dragons trust the Marshals to uphold their oaths.
The Unification Church-Countless worlds and the same races rise again and again, countless worlds and the same faiths rise again and again only with differing names. The clerics of the Unification Church believe all dieties good and evil are nothing more than representations of 12 achetyped gods and goddesses that seeded their children across the worlds. The Church teaches acceptance and unity; it seems to work, their numbers swell with each passing year.
The Celestial Guard- a free standing league of champions that travel the spaceways serving the higher powers and standing against evil in all it's forms. Their training empowers them with the powers and bravery of the most legendary of paladins and warriors of legend.
Druidic Society-an ancient collective of druids the worlds over who have sworn to defend the nature seen in the thousands of Imperial worlds from Imperial abuse.
Guild of Tinkers- A craftsmen guild of mechanics, engineers and wizards who come together to better their understanding of science, technology, and arcano-tech.
The Freecaster Club- an informal organization of pilots, captains, smugglers, and free traders who come together to share information and to trade their wares in peace.
Was hoping something would come along that was as easy as character combat.
If all else fails just map out a standard combat grid and add a 3rd dimension to it. The ships take up a number of squares egual to the size, and can move according to their speed in a given turn, the modifier for manueverability you add or subtract from the pilots skill roll, which he rolls when he plans to make a movement other than a straight forward move. Have the pilot and the ship share an inituitive while the crew does what ever they wish to do during combat.....probably man the weapons systems.
The Characters are approached by a well to do Gold Halfdragon, who is putting together a crew for a Royal Exploratory Service deep space mission. The PCs will be chosen as one of three '1st contact and special missions' Teams. They will be contracted for a three year(minimum) tour, given an officer's rank and privledges, and allowed special access to certain technologies and classified information at the mission's Lord Captain's perview, the Lord Captain being said Halfdragon.
This will be for all extents and purposes Star Trek- deep space, unknown civilizations and cultures, being caught up in unique dramatic and adventurous experiences.
Using this concept for the campaign, I can easily make use of any character concept that my depraved players can imagine.
Goblin mechanist (mechanic with scifi tech skills)
Elven Legionnaire (Fighter then Imperial Legionnaire PrC)
Hin infiltrator/scout (Communist Halfling rogue)
Gem Half Dragon Telepath (Psion with a few gem dragon abilities)
Human Naturalist (druid then ecoterrorist PrC.....actually a Changling not a Human.)
Human Priestess of the Mother ( cleric of the Unification church. Dedicated to the Mother Aspect)
nice blend of characters if I do say so myself. I'm really looking forward to what my Naturalist does. Nothing more fun than a C with a secret and having a Changling terrorist hidden in the midst is a sweet touch. And the goblin techie, nothing sweeter than a humourous mad scientist with no concerns for himself or others. The Gem Telepath will add some politics as her kind are a rival empire.
Very happy with my players today.
The metallic dragons are anything but stupid. (
Which is why I would have thought they'd have enough sense to alternate the reigns of the metallic and chromatic dragons, so as to minimize the length of time the chromatics would be in power.) Ahem... as I was saying, I'm sure Khelorn realized from the very beginning that Mezzenbone would not be the most benevolent of rulers. Therefore, I propose that he would have created a secret network of operatives acting behind the scenes to mitigate the damage Mezzenbone does. Not to overthrow him, mind you - after all, the Empire was Khelorn's idea to begin with, and he's too honorable to break the treaty - but to protect the people of the Empire from his worst excesses (while avoiding overt action as much as possible). And since they've had five thousand years to prepare, they'd be very well-placed by now.Related thought: Lazalius (leader of the blue dragons) is no fan of Mezzenbone either, and he's smart enough to deduce that Khelorn would plan something like this. Figuring that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" he might very likely try to secretly contact Khelorn's organization (through channels that couldn't be traced back to him, of course) and make an alliance with them. If the PCs belonged to this group, they might be the ones he contacts...
Gem Half Dragon Telepath (Psion with a few gem dragon abilities)
Human Naturalist (druid then ecoterrorist PrC.....actually a Changling not a Human.)
Changeling as in Eberron changeling? And would you mind posting your rules for half-gem dragons?
Wyvern
-Goblin mechanist-
First we have the horribly humorous sight of Flix Greaseworm, Formerly chief Mechanic for the Human freighter ship Raven's Dream , standing on the observation deck of the RES Evernstraza. A thin layer of axel grease and grit covers his face and overalls, his long wide Goblin ears pierced repeatedly with rings nuts bolts and gold wires. A half smoked cigar clenched tight in his wide ever grinning mouth, two snake trails of smoke rising overhead from his pinched nostrils. He looks up to his right and lets out a slight grunt as he sees.....
-Elven Legionnaire-
Ellean 'Whisper' Leaflan, standing in full regalia; Polished golden Armor of the Legion of the 1st Emperor, his flame pistol on one hip and his family's ancestral long sword on the other. Ellean's blonde hair is cropped close, revealing a pair of tattoos along the left side of his head.
-Hin scout-/-Gem Half Dragon Telepath -
Walking into the Deck, talking quickly in Hin, Two enter and have a look around. On the left stands the semi familiar sight of a Hin officer. 2 ft tall, dressed impeccably in a pressed and starched gray uniform, a perfectly proportioned pistol on his hip. His slight elven ears are plainly visable, as his bright red hair is pulled back tight into a braid that drapes his shoulder. This is Hin Citizen, Trendall Pastin.
On the right is an exile of the Jade Consortium, born the daughter of a Topaz Shogun, when Xhin Loo Dan spoke against the practice of the Consortium in which they train their commoners and citizens to worship the Gem Dragons and their children as Spirit guardians. She spoke against the Jade Dragonlord, a Crystal Dragoness of high renown. As She was the Duaghter of a Lord, Xhin was sent into exile, instead of the customary death sentence. Xhin Loo Dan stands just shy of 6 feet, her yellow crystalline scales shine in the fluorescent lights of the ship. Golden blonde hair is worn free in a massive mane of hair. Dressed in a long red silk dress she looks down to Trendall and laughs as he makes a joke about glorious madness of the mission they agreed to perform. Hanging from a silver chain is her topaz psicrystal familiar, mimicking a simple necklace bauble it hangs limp from her neck.
-Human Priestess of the Mother-
“ Now you two, no secrets. There’s a reason the Mother taught us Common.” Sings a pleasant voice behind them. Waiting to enter, Lenora Hall stands casually behind them. Dressed in the crew uniform of the Evernstraza, she measures just shy of 5 and ½ ft tall. Ebony black hair worn as a mass of braids, her deep rich skin tone contrasting greatly with pale Hin and bright yellow Half Dragon. “Seems we have all arrived, save for the doctor. Has he gotten lost?”
-Human (Changeling) Naturalist-
Nameless stands before the mirror in his quarters, his khaki outfit seemingly exploding with colors in comparison with the pale deathlike gray flesh. He reaches up and traces his fingers across the smooth featureless face. “ To stay hidden is our way, to see and yet not be seen is our calling, and to know yet be forgotten is our faith.” With these words his face begins to twist and flow like a liquid floating in zero G. It takes the tone of human flesh, a quick rustling as graying brown hair grows into place. A moment later the ships botanist and xenobiologist Doctor Allen McGovern leaves his quarters, his pet monkey on his shoulder gibbering away.
The metallic dragons are anything but stupid. (
Related thought: Lazalius (leader of the blue dragons) is no fan of Mezzenbone either, and he's smart enough to deduce that Khelorn would plan something like this. Figuring that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" he might very likely try to secretly contact Khelorn's organization (through channels that couldn't be traced back to him, of course) and make an alliance with them. If the PCs belonged to this group, they might be the ones he contacts...
Wyvern
Good idea. Sort of a Loyal opposition. ' We oppose you morally but will not betray you." I like it. Personally this seems a bit to caotic for a gold dragon to concieve, maybe a Silver? But this organization would definately be widespread, not as a single group with a prestige class corralating with it. I'd have members of several groups and organizations spreading across the galaxy. Librarians gathering information, Freecaptains smuggling equipment and people, Marshals returning from hunts with intel or maybe an extra 'bounty', Royal Arcanists devising spells for stealth. Less than a Rebellion more like the Masons of legend.
Now the((it's how I've always seen games)) 1st season plot will be the crew getting to know each other. As they travel planet by planet, I'll toss out a few episodic missions on and off the ship.
-A supply ship is scheduled to meet them and hasn't arrived. the team is sent out to find the ship along it's preset route. They find the ship drifting dead in space...the crew were also smuggling a newly dicovered alien to a crimelord of a nearby system, this alien attacked them and infested them with parasitic larvae. They fell into a coma and the larvae have taken control of the ship killing everyone else on board. The team, the crimelord's goons(sent to retrieve his cargo), and a band of space pirates will dock with the massive cargo ship. They'll either have to battle each other and the beasties, now grown much bigger, or attempt to team up to escape the ship before they become wombs for the next generation of parasites.
-The team discovers a long abandoned factory world, now grown over into jungle. it's classified as uninhabited but the ship registers a power signature. They discover an army of constructs (techno golems, androids, and the like) swarming the planet attempting to rebuild a crashed ship. The power signature is coming from the catacombed factory under the control of an insane soulmech who after centuries alone after his ship crashed, has built an army from the factories warehouses and his ship. He plans to build a new ship and leave the planet so that he can begin a war of extermination, freeing the mechanical from organic control.
-Arrive in a colony system for a supply run, the carrier is in the far edge of the system collecting comets for water so the team heads in system to get tech supplies from a lunar mining settlement. Nearly crash as solar flares are scrambling the sensors. They land on the lunar site to see it in ruins.The few survivors are insane. As the sun sets they discover that the colony is infected with a rare strain of lunar lycanthropy (when lycanthropes are infected upon a moon they are stronger, capable of controlled change and immune to silver, this immunity can be passed through breeding and infection. Thus lunar lycanthropy carries a death sentence throughout the empire) They're stuck on the moon for three days as the flares cycle through and have to stave off the lycanthrope hordes.
-A derelict spacestation falling out of orbit into a gas giant; there's a faint distress signal and they dock. Discover the station was an orbiting lab for genetics research and illegal necromantic experimentation.......insert a resident evil mission of escape from the station and keeping the intelligent undead from stealing the only ship off of the station.
-following the privious episode, they find evidence that the research team leaders from the station escaped with an experimental negative energy weapon capable of killing a vast number of people and reanimating them as undead under the users control. They'll race back to the ship to report the discovery only to find that the halfdragon knew. his mission was to find the research team and destroy the weapon before it is finished. Thus begins a few sessions of searching a few of the nearby worlds for evidence.
-battle with the Reasearch team head, a retired drow officer and his new army of mercenaries...hopefully leading to the destruction of the weapon.
that's my 1st season layout in a nutshell. any comments?
May i suggest a few more hooks during the begining to give the players a little more choice in development? Seems a little to directional to me. Thats always been the hard part, to get the players where you want them while letting them think thats where they wanted to go the whole time ;)
The Evernstraza is massive. the deck level that was used for fighterships has been redesigned as a villiage, giving the crew of over 1000 somewhere to go and something to do on down times. plus it still has room for 2 dropships and 6 empty spaces for additional ships.
I'm planning to run some drama regarding certain crew members, what happened to the previous away team.
P.S. Took me a while to catch up; got busy elsewhere.
By next year season 2 should start. and season 2 will pretty much lead up to a 3 party war between the Sco/goblin alliance, the Illithid Collective of the Dark Zone, and the Imperial Legions of the Stellar Dragon Empire.
I'll have the party investigate the increased activities along the DZ borders, the uprising and subsequent exodus of the Goblin hordes from the prison system Abyssin, yet another round of imperial engagements with outlands planets.
Plan on having the party called back to Draconis Prime when an assassin of an unknown race attempts to kill the LordCaptain's dragon father. The assassin appears to be human until it opens it's jacket and releases a horde of black tentacles from a cavity in it's torso. Before dying it claims to be a Gorgon. Evidence leads to a backwater world (( Ancient greece level tech and culture)) that is ruled by a medusa and medusar royal family....(( it always bothered me that the Gorgons of myth were "Medusa's", D&D Gorgons are iron plated bulls, and the sword and sorcery's " Scarred Lands" use these wierd Lovecraftian 'True Gorgons', so I'm combining them...))
yeah, I've got to much free time on my hands.
no time or rest for the wicked it seems 
It all still in my head and i would have to do conversions to this new system anyway. Its all good if i get it back together
So anyone like my idea for a " Gorgon Conspiracy", plan to have them all; gorgons, true gorgons and medusa/medusar, to be a Series of experiments performed by one of the Ancient races, not the Necron but the Lantean-pretty much my version of the Arcanes...a race that took a route quite different from the Necron. Instead of 'liching' themselves when facing extinction the Lantean experimented with rare and potent combinations of alchemy, transmutation magics and selective breeding to not only create several potent and dangerous races but also engineer their own immortality.
Feb 4, 2005 Shipped US Postal Ground Feb. 10, 2005 $49.67
Still awaiting to see if i am going to be disappointed again
Another idea. 'Steal' the Shade race from forgotten realms and alter them into a dark matter race that live in an 'invisible' dark matter cluster of star systems.
The Shades have watched from the shadows and the black of space for eons, copying and making the science and sorcery their own. Shadow adept mages and warlock cybertechnicians translate the 'light worlds' into their own pure form.
Nothing like chopshopping science and settings' specific info to really screw my players over........
now to create Chaos ( not the simple chaotic alignments but True insane Chaos that we get a taste of from warhammer 40K)
EnvironmentalAdaption: Popular among druids, explorers, field soldiers, and others who must survive in hostile environments, this spellware protects against ambient energy (or lack thereof), allowing the user to survive in conditions of cold, heat, acidity, pollution, toxidity, overpressure, vacuum, and radioactivity. As long as the damage inflicted would be no more than 1d6 points of damage or one point of attribute damage per minute, this spellware provides full protection against the environment. There must still be a medium for the character to breathe - the spell does not protect against the lack of oxygene in vacuum or allow an air-breather to breathe underwater, though it does allow survival with the help of a simple breathing apparatus.
Prerequisites: Implant Spellware, endure elements; Market Price: 2,000 cr; XP Cost: 80; Check DC: 12.-highjacked from the darkstar website... http://hastur.net/dragonstar/wiki/HomePage
MetamagicalBuffer: This is a piece of spellware that helps to absorb the strain of casting metamagical spells. Once installed, you can use any metamagical feat you know through the buffer, which will reduce the normal spell level increase by the metamagical buffer's rating (but never to less than the spell's original level.
Caster level: 13th; Prerequisites: Implant Spellware, limited wish or miracle; Market Price: cr 10,000 (+1), cr 40,000 (+2), cr 90,000 (+3), cr 160,000 (+4), cr 250,000 (+5).-highjacked from the darkstar website... http://hastur.net/dragonstar/wiki/HomePage
Beholder's Glare: An optical implant, the Beholder's Glare allows the implantee the eyebeam attack of a beholder's eyestalk. When purchased one selects which eyebeam, save for the antimagic ability, is to be implanted. The implant allows standard visuals inregard to the implantee's race and all other optical implants. (( can't remember beams exactually right now but ya'll get the idea.))
LifeCoin is the ultimate life insurance system, a service provided by the church of The Merchant. You record your identity with the church, and in the event of your death, the church will provide for a true resurrection spell to be cast, bringing you back to life.
With each type of account, a deposit of cr. 50,000 must be made with the temple of TheMerchant, and this is the price of one resurrection attempt; if you use the service, you must deposit the money again, or the service is cancelled. Beyond this deposit, there is also a yearly service charge, which covers secure identity storage, regular contacts with the LifeCoin service, and legal fees.
If an attempted resurrection fails, there is no refund. The most common causes of failure are that the client is not really dead or does not want to be resurrected, and in this case there is nothing that can be done. In other cases, the client has been imprisoned or soul bound, and the church cannot be held accountable for such things, as they are outside church control.
The data vaults where LifeCoin identities are kept are among the most secure data fortresses in the Dragon Empire, and a lot of very important people have a vested interest in keeping them safe. The Imperial Police and the ISPD have no authority to prevent a resurrection, but LifeCoin keeps the authorities informed of the resurrections they are about to perform, so the police may well be waiting for you as you awaken. There is rumored to be a LifeCoin Platinum service, only available to VIPs that will not report your resurrection to anyone. But this is just a rumor.
The name LifeCoin comes from the holy symbol of The Merchant, a golden coin, and from the token that various aspects of The Reaper demand as a toll for those crossing the boundary between life and death. Clients are given a LifeCoin insurance card marked with the symbol of The Merchant with contact information for the temple. If a LifeCoin client is brought in to a church hospital, every effort will be made to restore his health, and any costs will be deducted from the credit balance of the card, so it also serves as regular health-care insurance.
LifeCoin Bronze
With LifeCoin Bronze, the church has no means of establishing whether you are alive or dead and no duty to try and resurrect you until they receive definite word of your death. The true resurrection spell will not be cast until the church receives definite word on your demise; and even then there is a waiting period of 1 to 6 weeks while the church double-checks records and waits for an open time slot. LifeCoin Bronze costs cr. 100 per month.
LifeCoin Silver
This level of insurance still involves no supernatural means of determining your health, but unless you report in every six months, the LifeCoin operation will use divination spells to determine your health; if results are negative, an attempt at resurrection will be made. If you simply disappear, you will be resurrected in 1 to 6 months. Otherwise identical to LifeCoin Bronze. If a resurrection fails, LifeCoin Silver clients will have divination spells cast to determine why. LifeCoin Silver costs cr. 500 per month.
LifeCoin Gold
The most exclusive service available. With this service, the church casts a permanent status spell, and monitors your health and well being magically. If you die, you will be resurrected in 1d6 days. LifeCoin Gold costs cr. 1,500 per month.
Virtual Component Pouch
This is a technomagical version of the normal component pouch. It appears like a small metallic box, about 1 inch across, and has a Hardness of 8 and 1 hit point.
A Virtual Component Pouch uses holograms and technomagical simulation to emulate material components for spells. Bascially, it convinces the user that he is using the proper component, and the spellcasters convinction is sufficient to power the spell.
A Virtual Component Pouch can emulate any material component or foci with a cost of no more than 100 gp. Emulating components that are free involves no risk; pricy components may cause the Virtual Component Pouch to burn out and the spell to fail. The percentile chance is the same as the pice of the component in question. The Virtual Component Pouch cannot emulate XP components. Cr. 50
Kalishti; A splendid arcane and scientific treasure of study, Discovered 5 centuries ago by the Royal Exploratory Service, Kalishti instantly drew the interest of astrophysists and arcanists. The world of Kalishti was rich with technologies and magics, populated with a single sentient race, and had eons of experience with both the Dark Zone and near constant outsider incursions, but the real prize was the planet itself. The Population, the Kalish, tell that a thousand of years before their world had repelled another incursion of the 'Blood War' and were celibrating thier fortune when a seer discovered the existance of a massive asteroid hurtling towards the planet. With limited technologies then they faced sudden doom, but at the last moment, by the will of the gods or just timing, the greatest of the worlds mages did the unthinkable. Each Kalish wizard capable, instantaniously cast a Wish, all uttering the same simple wording, " We Wish to survive."
The asteroid impacted the planet and the world of Kalishti shattered, but a thing of pure magic occured. The rubble of this fallen world stayed together: Massive continent sized islands and mountains as well as rubble of variou other sizes began to orbit the molten core, the atmosphere clung together and the waters of the world rapped around as a great aquatic Ring. Lands facing the core were under continuously day while those facing away recieved the standard day/night rotations.
The people of Kalish, also changed to live in their new world, their need for food and drink was severly lengthened, 2 months between meals, their flesh is now capable of mending itself, limbs returned to the body capable of reattachment. But the Finest change was within, they were capable of shifting their own centers of gravity, as now all creatures native to Kalishti can do, this gives them the ability to thrive upon their world by allowing settlement upon any of the thousands of landmasses that orbit their new sun Kalii.
Description: The Kalish stand about 5 feet in height with the females being slightly taller. Their skin is suprisingly soft, pale, almost completely white with deep red along the extremities. Their hair ranges from a deep reds and pinks to grey, white and even silver. Their eyes range between yellow, violet, red and jade. Their lifespans average around 600 yrs.
Personality: The Kalish are a brilliant race, mastering the arcane and technological arts as well as rough nature of life. Curious to a fault, the Kalish will spend a human's life time upon single task if there is more to learn, but are as likely to abandon the task if the knowledge gained isn't emotionaly rewarding enough. Dedication is always tempered with a pragmatic concept of need likewise after eons of battle with outsiders they came to the conclusion that good and evil are nothing more than states of mind and actions alone calculate worth. This leads the Kalish to a truly neutral stance upon life.
The Kalish Were and still are eager members of the empire and can be found upon many of the throneworlds as well as deep space, their gravity abilities and experience with mining the shattered mantle of their own world has left them with a knowledge of geology that many believe may be innate.
Kalish
Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength. Kalish are a fairly small species with little physical bulk. Their intellects, however, are extraordinary.
Medium-sized: Kalish have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
Kalish base speed is 10 meters.
Kalish treat all knowledge skills as class skills. They gain a +2 racial modifier on knowledge skills.
Kalish ignore starvation rules for up to two months at a time (i.e., no Fort checks until at least two months have passed without eating)
Kalish can reattach lost limbs and restore them to full functionality. The limb must be bound back against the severed stump until it heals (meaning that the limb must be intact). Healing rate still takes place as normal, but severed limbs will be fully functional at the end of that time. This ability does not apply to decapitation.
Gravity control. Kalish have the extrordinary ability to harness their own gravity, centering it internally and directing it as they wish. At will, a kalish can select a new direction in a 3 Dimensional space as 'down' for them. That new point functions as their 'down' until the Kalish chooses to consiously select another point in a 3 Dimensional space as 'down'. This also gives them the additional benifit of never suffering the effects of high and low G planetoids.
LA: +2
Blue Dragon Blues: The party's choices are standard for race and class but a slight nudge towards investigative noir-ish concepts. The Clutch of a local blue dragon noble are kidnapped. The ransom comes along the infonet through the Long Road (the long Road is a set of permanate gates set upon each of the dragon throne worlds, the only means of true, cheap intersteller trade between each of the House's domains. The infonet is a lanline setup that passes through each gate and links each of the Throneworlds together in one massive network.) The Player's will have debts called in and be forced to track the kidnappers down before the Nobledragoness pays the ransom. Will lead though several of the Throneworlds and delve into several alternate criminal enterprises also setup within the worlds.
Smuggler's Paradise: the players again have a wide choice of races and classes but a nudge toward pirates/smugglers. Main arc is their business as couriers that is a front for a smuggling ring. Side arcs of encounters with the ISPD, Legion blockades, pirates, Illithid and Neogi raiders from the Dark Zone, rival businesses as well as situations arrising upon what ever world they come upon.....players be warned I insist on history and backstory provided. Personal history always comes back to bite ya on the afterburner.
Facts of Afterlife: Players have total freedom, they will be employed as crew upon a research vessel owned and operated by an All Systems University Scholar and have to escape when the research in necrotic energies backfires, releasing negative energy radiation that mutates, kills, and reanimates the majority of the crew as various monstrous forms of undead.-multi week mini game.
Let's do the Space Warp Again: The Players will all be members of one of the Imperial Legion's special forces squad. They are assigned to a seemingly empty part of space only to discover upon arrival that A massive Planar WarpGate has opened. multiple battlecarriers and research vessels are scattered around the WarpGate awaiting the arrival of 'Whatever', to subsequently be met with the appropriate response. WAR.-plan to be forced to do recon within the WarpGate.
The concept he has s going to be fun. A pure strain human servant to the great nephew of the Emperor Mezzenbone, his family has served as advisors and butlers to this line of half dragons for centuries. This young man, David, convinced his Master to invest in an education at the All System University. There, David delved into archaeology, history, and magical theory. Though he detests magic, David realized he should at least understand it. During this time he has the great fortune to meet a certain Professor; Zgin Hansso, an exile of the Jade Consortium and a powerful and skilled Samurai. After some months David comvinces Master Hansso to begin his training. Upon graduation David returned to his master's service as an advisor and butler, but now as a bodyguard as well. When the Evernstraza's mission was proposed David convinced his Master to place him upon the ship as a member of the crew, or to be more accurate as an an informer.
David's personal goal is to use this mission as a means of attaining artifacts capable of destroying the Great Houses, to avenge the dishonor put upon his family. Once they were warriors and artificiers of great strength and power, now mere servants.
I love this guy's concepts.
Eye of the Beholder(to be sung as Eye of the Tiger) Misc mix of races and classes, the group is hired by a Rakshasa(sp) crimelord as bodyguards for his prizefighter. Their employer will pay hansomely if they keep the prizefighter alive for another week, he has a boxing match and there have been multiple attempts to tamper, curse and kill him by a rival crimelord, the Beholder known as Galda the Just. If successful for the week they will find themselves at the fight running interference during the bout. If the prizefighter survives then they will be offered jobs. Leading into a smuggler campaign weither they have a pilot or not.(LOL)
Codex Imperiux The players are employed by the All Systems University Library's Special Collections Division. The University has uncovered the lost Codex Imperiux, a vast tome of powerful magics, star maps to wealthy now lost colonies, blueprints of unique arcanotechnology. It is worth millions of credits on the open market and worth billions on the black market.
The Codex is in the possession of a rogue Imperial Legion LordCommander and his Company. They have claimed a out of the way pre-industrial moderate magic world and have enslaved the populous. The group is given 1 week to retrieve the Codex before three Legion Companies come to remove the traitors and take proper claim of the planet for the Empire.
This campaign will offer a nice, espionage and stealth challenge mixed with a high tech dungeon crawl. If they make it off world in time they will be taken into custody and later returned to the planet as guides for the Arriving Legions. Thus turning the story into a military campaign.
The Mines of Moria 3 for a thousand years the Dwarven colony on the moon Moria 3 has provided some of the finest jewels and metals in the Galaxy. No word has been heard from the Colony for 5 months, so the ISPD has contacted the party (misc smugglers, pilots, mercs, whatever) to ventue to Moria 3 and contact the colony.
Upon arrival the crew discovers the colony destroyed, a smoldering ruin and in orbit, A Scro battlebarge with hundreds of goblin fighterwasps swarming around it. They barely manage to make it to the surface unseen and begin the treck to the mining colony. Now they must battle a pirate army of Scro and goblins that have been rading and looting the mines for months, the Dwarves who survived are now enslaved, forced to mine their own mines.
alternate campaign arcs continued:
The Mines of Moria 3 for a thousand years the Dwarven colony on the moon Moria 3 has provided some of the finest jewels and metals in the Galaxy. No word has been heard from the Colony for 5 months, so the ISPD has contacted the party (misc smugglers, pilots, mercs, whatever) to ventue to Moria 3 and contact the colony.
Neat idea... blaming it on a pirate fleet seems kind of mundane, though. I'd go for something more sinister...
Wyvern
Hell i've a pdf of symbiotic equipment and items for Dark Sun that would work great for the Illithids in the Dark Zone. Where the Empire has technology, technomagic and straight magic, the Illithid have biotech and psionics......so the idea is to have the players as smugglers attemptiong to bring merchandice from the Dark Zone without being cought by the Empire for breaking the quarantine, without getting caught by what monsters dwell in a galaxy wide Black Nebula ruled by psychic brrain eating squids, and without getting pinched by pirates, coursairs and neogi slavers that wander the border regions.
Neat idea... blaming it on a pirate fleet seems kind of mundane, though. I'd go for something more sinister...
Wyvern
Lol, everything has to be more sinister these days...why can't it just be a bunch of pirate thugs? ;)
The way I see it, if we need more adversaries then you just Go up the chain of command and uncover the Dragon Noble using the Scro as his personal army, during the conflict with the Scro pirates the party accidently awakens a Nercon Warprince and It's personal army of undead and constructs who now decides to kill them all, or a random warpgate opens on the planet releasing either elementals or outsiders of various types- mmmmm a faction war with cybernetic doomguard vs Sensate Gun Fu martial artists.
Yeah, nothing says "Fear The Wrath of the mighty DM" like a three party gunfight with massive amounts of magic tossed around as well.
glad to see ya joining us ND.
Lol, well, been buried. Still buried. Depressingly buried. To the point of saying heck with it all and finding a nice deserted island to live, free of emails, taxes, people.
Hell Don't go thinking you Owe us your presence. if you're bus sign on later. Hopefully we'll survive without the guidence of our great spiritual leader......
So what do ya think about the past few alternate arc ideas? I have to post hear as every other gamer I socialize with is in the game with me and I need feedback like a lawyer needs a check.
Any ideas ya'll got for us?
so You're what An undead druid?LOL
Hell Don't go thinking you Owe us your presence. if you're bus sign on later. Hopefully we'll survive without the guidence of our great spiritual leader......
Spiritual leader?? Me?? What, am I a messah now? Cool! Let me try walking on water...glub glub glub...
Well THAT didn't work and I'm now dripping on the new carpeting...
So what do ya think about the past few alternate arc ideas? I have to post hear as every other gamer I socialize with is in the game with me and I need feedback like a lawyer needs a check.
Any ideas ya'll got for us?
Heh, they're pretty nice. You could combine a few into a single campaign and maybe even introduce elements of the ones you don't use. I do have one comment about the portal one:
To me, its rather cliche for a portal to open out of the blue and an army flies through to invade, and usually gets shot up in the process. Probably a "Pearl Harbor" syndrome in our entertainment culture. If you're going to have an invasion, it might be better/more believable to have it be a long-term thing with agents infiltrating an area, perhaps as "innocent tourists", and other clues before they strike. And thus, the PCs have a chance to either stop it via diplomacy or thwart some of the initial attacks (maybe warn the fleet to get out of port before the strike happens).
Hell i've a pdf of symbiotic equipment and items for Dark Sun that would work great for the Illithids in the Dark Zone. Where the Empire has technology, technomagic and straight magic, the Illithid have biotech and psionics......
Cool. Is that a 2nd edition supplement?
Wyvern
I believe it's the living artifacts of Athas, or some such?
* I mean no offence, he put me in a mood. if offended, sorry. if it'll help you can kick my lumpy Astericks later
** As I stutter like a brillo pad-ed Cd, I am allowed to mock with stuttering.
Casting:
Goblin mechanist (mechanic with scifi tech skills)+ a fine collection of chop shop robot pets
Elven Legionnaire (Fighter then Imperial Legionnaire PrC)
Hin infiltrator/scout (Communist Halfling rogue)
Green Half Dragon soulknife
Human Naturalist (druid then ecoterrorist PrC.....actually a Changling not a Human.)
Human Alchemist (one of the alchemist class write ups from the forum, from an isolated human only world. no magic and this is the penacle of their science. She's the Crystal Alchemist; makes a living working as a lieson between her world and the empire. was asked to take this mission by the planetary governor-former Feurer King Elric the 2nd)
Human Advisor to the royal houses(samurai- skilled out with a lot of social skills. not sure yet wether to use the oriental adventures samurai or the complete warrior samurai. any advice on which to allow?)
so the soulknife, thealchemist and the druid are rolled up the others I'll help finish up tomorrow...and then it's just getting everyone to show up.
Within three days those infected began to wander the streets, attacking and brutally assaulting those who were not ill. the assaulted then began to travel with the roving bands of infected. The planetary defense system acting upon Quarentinne(sp) protocals, began to shoot down any ships attempting to leave the planet. The arriving Legionnaire carrier sent robotic containment modules to harvest one of the infected.
The Infected were uneffected by divine magics attempting to heal them, they would violently attack any uninfected but when left alone they just stood there. Then the research team observed the true cause of the infection. Spellware implants spontaniously generated, body armour ruptured violently from the body......tissue samples showed the cause. a nanovirus of a sophistication unseen in the Empire. One member of the research team, long a study of planar lore, proclaimed, " i have seen this, it is Modron, but that is impossible....."his words trailed off as an alarm sounded. From the planet rose hundreds of vessels, all Cubes, all firing upon the planetary defense system and the carrier.
Upon leaving the planet the cubes cam together growing into one massive modular Cube and just sat in orbit for a moment before activating a starcaster and disappearing. The same events occured upon three other worlds, leavig behind a barren world, even it's atmosphere was consumed in the great cube's construction.
Reports of sightings are rare, maily due to a lack of survivors though throughout the Outlands many ships have been taken. The popular opinion is piracy though those within the ISPD and the Arcanist Union have postulated that the infected, called the Modronite may be the cause. Non the less this is one of many incedents that the Empire calls upon to support it's longstanding hostile view of the outsiders and those of the planes.
Modronite: pretty much a template to add to any creature, I'm thinking the half-machine listed in a copy of Dragon magazine i have with the addition of the infectious ability, and the hive mind. Ahhhh nothing better than spellcasting Borg to toss at your players. plus it gives me a chance to rip off dawn of the dead and 28 days later without having to use necromancy.
My players actually got around to rolling up characters, two of three who previously rolled them up are gone seemingly for good and somehow they endup up on a backwater world in a middle of nowhere port city that makes mos eisley look like Vegas.
so I ended up with a completely new cast and a few decisions to make....
and now the cast
Arisfial: Eliti rock musician (Eliti are a pc race, good undead that live in the void of space. a bard that wants to become famous for all eternity. and as he's undead and a coward. it's perfectly possible)
Dinch Bradley: Arisfial's bodyguard and employee. owes a massive debt to an off world Beholder crimelord. (human rogue.)
Gregori Hallen: marshal-member of the holy Order of the Judge (Elven paladin of the Judge Deitype)
Sister Brigette: Hallen's partner and best friend. Serves on port authority as well as a member of the local Unification church, leads prayer sessions and so on ( Human monk.)
Gint Took Trafelin ...etc, etc( long as hell name): Local fixit 'man' and greedy twirp ( Goblin Mechanist, greedy and foolish but kind hearted.)
Jade Sarin: 'transmuter', traveling the worlds looking for fame and fortune.( Alchemist -taken from the class forums, seeing if it worlks in game-, exiled from her homeworld for having relations with an offworlder-her homeworld is pretty the world from full metal alchemist....if the class and Character doesn't work out then she'll be retrograde-erased from the game and replaced with a wizard.....player agreed as well- )
right now the bard and his partner/employee are trying to dodge the beholder crimelord 'Boss Tannenbaum' and set a gig at the only club on the planet. Jade is a drifter with no connections and unknown to her, she has drawn the attention of a representative of the AristoCorp. 'Shadotech Industries incorperated' a half Black Dragon-Human Sorcerer with a habit of kidnapping/'disappearing' commoners. Gint has half a dozen contracts set up throughout the port city. Hallen and Bridgette are investigating the current rash of 'disappearances'.
So my problem is that the group is segmented into two groups of two, with the alchemist and mechanist running completely solo stories...I plan to draw them all together at the 'gig' next week, somehow kidnap the alchemist and draw the group together at the same time. lol with no idea how we ended up in an unplanned campaign when I've half a dozen just lying there in the ether that's the internet...
well as I've always said, "If everything were to ever come together peacefully, I'd probably be dead."
Jade is kidnapped by the 'shadowstalker'( as he is called by the local news service). the only witness is the goblin Gint Took, whose testimony is next to worthless due to his inability to distinguish one 'tall' from another. by the end of the session the paladin and monk with Gint in tow trace the 'shadowstalker' to a docked cargo ship. I end it as the walk up to the ship, a van passes them heading towards the next docked ship.
The lovely duo of Arisfial and Dinch have settled in for the evening. Dinch sleeps while his employer spends the night writing songs and acting all moody. Around midnight he is disturbed by a nock at the door. Standing in front of him is a sight that to anyone else would be disturbing, A decayed and scarred ghoul in a black business suit. The Ghoul looks up at him and in a slight hiss says " Leave the 'Breather', the bosses want you to pay a visit." He is then escorted to a convertable, the ghoul gets behind the wheel and drives Arisfial to a warehouse near the space port. Arisfial is then escorted inside and left in a darkened room. Soft lights turn on and sitting before him are 4 figures at a long oak table.
Baron Hayden Tolln, Dwarven Vampire lord; mercenary prince
Reverend Shayne, Spectre priest of the Reaper
Rayn Dorn, Ghast governor of the prison planet Abyssn
Doctor Marinna Preen, Lich and chief mage of the arcanist guild.
A 5th seat is vacant.
Arisfial recognized these beings instantly, they are quite well known as the heads of the Order of the Fallen; a shadow government that rules the undead populous of the Empire. The Order of the Fallen provides the empire with shock troops, espionage agents and large amounts of magic items and credits in exchange for the privledge of having their members recognized as imperial citizens and not as threats to be exterminated.
Baron Hayden looks to Arisfial with a grimace, " To think the spawn of Trafe Spellborn, one of the greatest Corsair Raiders and most skilled of Warlocks grovels to 'Breathers' for spare credits. You have the power of the afterborn binding your corpse and yet you spend an Imperial age composing poetry an music." With a grunt he looks away, and Reverend Shayne leans forward, " We asked you here brother at your sire's request. As the spawn of a Council member you are immune for now from our wrath, so Trafe, to embarassed to speak to you itself has asked us to deal with you. We ask the Spawn of Trafe to renounce this foolish quest for 'fame' and the recognition of the born. They are foodstuffs and servitors yet you grovel like a lowley Hin begger. Your human slave has accumulated a considerable debt to the beholder crimelord, 'Boss tannenbaum' we know you have been paying this bebt. That too is inexcuseable, so we Ask you again to renounce this foolishness. The council is here for only a standard week, mainly by the request of our esteemed brethern. Go, return tomorrow night and give us an answer. We pray to the Lord of the Grave that you reconsider."
At that Arisfial is dismissed and returns to the hotel, furious at his sire for attempting to drag him back to the 'fold'.
After an hour walking he arrives at the Outland hotel, as he turns the corner he sees a trio of female ghouls carrying the unconscious Dinch to a van.
That's where I ended it.
short night due to player inattendance and work. I plan to have the ghoul-lettes selling the drugged Dinch to Tannenbaum, just as Sister Brigette, Gregori Hallen and Gint arrive at the same shipyard looking for the serial kiler known as 'Shadow stalker'
what ya think?
The Order of the Fallen provides the empire with shock troops, espionage agents and large amounts of magic items and credits in exchange for the privledge of having their members recognized as imperial citizens and not as threats to be exterminated.
Cool idea!
The council is here for only a standard week,
Would that be a galactic standard week (i.e. 1 hour)? :D
Wyvern
. The Order of the fallen hit me as a good idea, while The Empire recognizes that evil align races cannot be descriminated against if civilization can survive but in that there are two exceptions. Lycanthropy and the undead. Undead come in two varieties, simple animated corpses like skeletons and zombies that are for all practical reasons can be seen as tools and constructs. Then there's the intelligent undead; on averge they are evil, feed on the living either through flesh or blood or even souls, and their conditions are contagious. Throughout Imperial history there have been religious purges and inquisitions to seek out and destroy the undead scourge, but for the sake of Imperial stability a secret pact was made. The Intelligent undead would restrain themselves, with a complex series of redtape and paperwork blocking undead reproduction.
Lycanthropy has likewise been treated with contempt and pity, healers, doctors and scientists have spent centuries attempting to cure the plague while paladins have taken a more direct course though extermination. unlike the undead the majority of the 'viral metamorphic' as some scientists and arcanists refer to them; have a shift in alignment, thought patterns and self control. They regress to a primal predatory state and not only find it difficult if not impossible to control themselves but they actually prefer the wild nature to their old lives.
Arisfial hails a cab and follows the van to the shipyards. He runs and hides behind a parked jeep and watches as the 3 ghouls park the van and walk to a cargo ship flanked by three men with plasma rifles. as they talk Arisfial runs to the van and opens the back, he finds an unconsious Dinch bound and gagged on the floor of the van. Arisfial attempts to wake him but fails, so he picks him up and after dropping him over his shoulder foolishly slams the van door. As the guards open fire he races to the nearest cover available, a large black ship with an open cargo bay door.
just two minutes before Bridgette, Gint Took, and Gregori arrive at the shipyards and find the only ship matching Gint's horrible description. As they walk towards it a white van passes them. They ignore it and approach the ship. After a minute of effort, Gint hacks the ships locking mechanisms and they enter the ship. While Gint and Gregori walk calmly into the dark ship, Bridgette pulls out a flashlight and slowly follows behind. Just as they finish searching the cargo bay and finding nothing of importance They are startled by the Sight of Arsifial running into the cargo bay carrying a bound and gagged human body. As soon as he steps inside a plasma blast shoots over his head and he quickly latches the bay doors.
After a 10 minutes of intense questions from Gregori, Arsifial finally wakes Dinch and the 5 make relative peace.
Then Arsifial bothers to answer Bridgette's questions about the banging, screaming and blasting outside the baydoors.
As Bridgette and Gregori refuse to get involved in Arsifial's criminal activities, they head off to continue the search for Jade. Gint stays behind for a few minutes to talk to the two new people before grabbing their wrists and dragging them laughing, " You'll need help with all those fans of yours out there. If ya play nice the cops may actually save your necks."
Arsifial and Dinch talk for a minute before agreeing with Gint and coming along willingly.((more later, I've a supper to cook for the family))
Arsifial and Dinch take a few moments to shove crates and cargo in front of the bay doors and race towards the advancing officers of the law.
After a few minutes of andering the dark corridors of the ship they come to three locked door. Dinch walks forward and takes a casual look and begins a vivid description of the deadly traps both technological and arcane layering these doors. Then with a grin he reached for the 1st and with a swipe of a codekey opens the door...." Just kidding." Dinch opens the door wide for the others and out of the pitch black of the ship lerches a dried and mummified corpse of a woman dressed in a strapless ballgown. With a hiss the ghoul lunges forward to bite Dinch in the back of the neck, only to have the barrel of Gregori's sidearm shoved into her mouth, "Not so fast sleeping ugly" and with that Gregori smites evil and pulls the trigger, destroying the head. With a sway the body falls over and bridgette flicks a piece of ear off of Dinch's shoulder." You might want to be a bit more careful, who knows what's crawling around this ship"
The echo from Gregoi's shot wakes the 'security system' of the ship and the group begins a blind run through the ship looking for a safe room to hold up in. At random, Gint opens a door into an empty hallwayand dives inside as the rest follow. When they shut the door, the lights come on and they see that the hallway is lined with cells. Inside each is a person; all female,all human, all hooked up to a series of medical life support systems. Gregori and Bridgette begin to look across the cells and recognize each of the women. In the last cell they find Jade, still conscious. They race over and after a minute of arguing over how to unhook the equipment they finally free her.
She then tells of her kidnapping.
That's all for now.
I do have a few questions that I feel that I must ask.
1) What would human planets be like?
2) What would drow planets be like?
3) What would Raptorean planets be like?
4) How would druids fit into this setting?
5) Is it possible for there to be other interstellar nations other then the Dragon Empire to exist in this setting.