Take Command
of a Titan!
"Big Ship" campaigns in the STAR FRONTIERS®
game
by Roger E. Moore
Polyhedron Magazine, #21, pg. 10
Even though this is a STAR FRONTlERS®
game article, it will start with some thoughts about the TRAVELLER®
game,
by Game Designers' Workshop. One of the oldest science-fiction RPGs on
the market, the TRAVELLER system developed some fascinating game concepts
that can be applied to virtually any other science-fiction campaign. One
or its most interesting adventure settings was that of the Big Ship campaign.
Those who have been
involved in a TRAVELLER campaign may recall the Leviathan and Azhanti
High Lightning starship supplements, in which a large merchant craft
and a titanic-sized warship, respectively, were drawn out and detailed
to the nth degree. Entire campaigns could be organized around these
mighty ships, with players taking the roles of the numerous crewmen manning
the bridge, gun turrets, computer stations, small craft, exploration teams,
repair crews, and so on. If characters die in combat or disaster, new characters
may be drawn from the ship's crew or by recruiting at any nearby planet.
The starship itself is the core of the campaign; men come and go, but the
ship lives on. . . .
The thrill of having
a Big Ship is hard to match. No longer wilt pirates get away with ripping
off your puny merchant ship; instead, they'll get a taste of laser fire-power
that can peel the rock off an asteroid. You have the advantage of a large
crew and many supplies, and you can often get a few other smaller ships
to serve as backup scouts and escorts. A Big Ship campaign is a unique
experience.
Choosing a Big Ship
Having decided to try a Big Ship campaign,
the first (and most important) question is, which sort of Big Ship will
be used in the adventures? This decision will require input from all of
the players, as they will be the ones to suffer through the scenarios.
Some of the possible campaign options that may be taken include:
Merchant ships. Large-sized merchant craft that pick up and
offload hundreds or thousands of tons of merchandise with each planetfall
are fascinating to run, particularly for players who like to calculate
profits on their pocket calculator. Anyone with a bend toward accounting
(or greed) will like this set up; it's nice to be rich.
Interestingly, many
science-fiction games are organized so that it is difficult to make a loss
on a run, no matter what cargo the ship is carrying. The referee may wish
to adjust this to give players a little trouble now and then, but making
money is the major reason that most players will take this campaign route.
Merchant starships
in STAR FRONTIERS gaming are generally of two types, either spaceliners
(passenger haulers) or freighters; some notes on them appear on p.6 of
the Campaign Book that comes with the Knight Hawks set. Spaceliners are
great if the players and referee want lots of action as well as lots of
money. All sorts of weird and dangerous characters can be picked up (including
hijackers and assassins).
Note that freighters
might prove somewhat boring, since they involve low crew sizes and (sadly)
freighters are not well armed and aren't very maneuverable. However, a
heavily-armed freighter that makes specialized runs (possibly during a
Sathar war) could prove enjoyable to base a campaign around.
Smaller merchant ships
could venture into unexplored star systems to open up trade with new cultures
or colonies, thus doubling as scouts (see below). This sort of adventure
was the major purpose of the Leviathan adventure mentioned above,
and interested players and referees should examine a copy of that booklet
for more information.
Exploration and
scout ships. Exciting, long running adventures can be organized around
scouting crews who are sent out to new star systems to search for habitable
(or inhabited) worlds. The players will have thousands of adventures open
up for them as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new
civilizations - you know the rest.
The demand on the game
referee, however, could be immense. Whole work's would have to be invented
with each adventure, and the creative demand to put together unique and
enjoyable scenarios would be enormous. It would help for the referee to
have access to set entire journals and texts on other planets and solar
systems, and a good supply of science-fiction novels describing unusual
new worlds that could be adapted into the campaign would also be of value.
One interesting variant
on this theme might be to have a giant starship become lost in the galaxy
by some means. Perhaps a Big Ship passed too close to a black hole or other
space-warping phenomenon in the Void; when it exited the Void, it wasn't
where it was supposed to be (by several thousand light years!) In this
situation, the lost ship's crew will know they will not be able to return
home again in their lifetimes. But - they can explore and settle the area
they are in, and begin a new human civilization in a remote part of the
galaxy. What alien worlds and dangers will they encounter? The possibilities
are endless.
A final thought: Referees
are referred to module SFKH 2, Mutiny on the Eleanor Moraes, for
some thoughts on major complications that could develop on long-range
scouting missions.
Warships and privateer.
The
Second Sathar War has started, and you and your friends are in command
of the battleship UPFS Admiral Morgaine, the heart and soul of Task
Force Prenglar. All that lies between you and victory is the entire Sathar
fleet, and the Sathar feel the same way about you as you feel about them.
. . .
Using details from
the STAR FRONTIERS Campaign Book (pgs. 55-60), the referee can create a
major campaign in which the players role-play their way through the planning,
preparations, fighting, and adventure of the Sathar wars. If the Sathar
are too "tame," then there aft Mechanons and other hostile aliens to battle,
pirate bases to locate and destroy, and convoys to escort and protect.
Perhaps some smaller Big Ships of assault scout, frigate, or light cruiser
size will receive special missions to scout enemy forces, run blockades,
and conduct surprise attacks on enemy positions.
Other campaign backgrounds
are suggested by the information in SFKH 1, Dramune Run, in which
the tension between Inner Reach and Outer Reach explodes in the Dramune
War, and by The Warriors
of White Light, the mission
brief included with the Knight Hawks game. The latter is further described
below and includes a series of adventures for small Big Ships.
The possibility of
inter-corporate rivalries exploding into warfare must also be considered;
after all, there was "Laco's War." Some interesting information on corporate
conflicts in space may be found in module SF 4, Mission to Alcazzar,
and
in DRAGON® Magazine #88 ("Yachts and Privateers Return,"
p. 82), both sources by Doug Niles. A two-part series on corporations and
their wars in the Frontier Sector will appear in DRAGON Magazine issues
#89-90, written by Kim Eastland, and will provide valuable background information
on the "company wars."
Private ships and
others.
The least "confining" of all Big Ship adventure campaigns would
be, of course, ones centered around privately owned ships that can go anywhere
the crew wants. One or more of the player characters should be rich enough
(from previous adventuring or by the referee's ruling) to have a giant
starship constructed for a select crew to go wandering in. The ship's crew
may then dabble in military, mercantile, or exploratory affairs, as they
choose.
The "Yachts and Privateers
Return" article from DRAGON® Magazine #89, mentioned
above, has information on the larger private yachts that sail the Frontier
Sector's stars. Developing a suitable adventuring background for the campaign
would prove easier in this instance than in the above ones, as the player
characters themselves have control over their future plans. It could prove
difficult at times to get everyone to agree with the same plans, however,
but generally there should be little problem in coordinating the group's
interstellar activities.
References and aids
A list of game aids that may prove helpful
for running or gaming in a Big Ship campaign follows. Some of these products
were designed for game systems other than the STAR FRONTIERS game, but
the organizational material and gaming hints they have can be invaluable.
STAR FRONTIERS®
game aids
Knight Hawks - The starship expansion rules
(for the STAR FRONTIERS game.) Obviously essential for any Big Ship campaigns
in this system. The mini-module that comes with this set, The Warriors
of White Light, is required reading for the scenario ideas and organization
it gives to starship campaigns.
SFKH1: Dramune Run
-
The first Knight Hawks module, this adventure lays much groundwork for
running starships as the core of the campaign. The merchant ship provided
in the adventure is only hull size 6, but a good referee can extrapolate
from the information provided, particularly the excellent Ship Log layout
on p.13, when designing larger ships and the adventures to go with them.
TRAVELLER®
game aids
Book 5, High Guard -
Though only those
who are familiar with this game system will understand most of the material
here, this booklet does provide some interesting detail on crewing and
operating major starships. The shipbuilding system used here is of little
use in STAR FRONTIERS gaming, but the list of things that ships can be
outfitted with might make interesting reading.
Supplement 9, FightingShips
-
A fascinating look at what the TRAVELLER game calls big. This booklet
can give players some wonderful ideas on how to construct their own Big
Ship, if allowed to do so by the referee. Beware of the half-million ton
monsters, though. . . .
Adventure 1, The
Kinunir - On the "'small" side or the Big Ship scale, the military
starship described here has numerous adventures centering around it that
could be adopted into other game systems with ease. The idea of gaining
a Big Ship by salvage (with the associated dangers) is explored, and a
crew roster is given that details where the crewmen might he found at any
particular time (useful for NPCs).
Adventure 4, Leviathan
-
Absolutely required reading, even if you don't play TRAVELLER games. Superb
detailing of a major starship (though still on the "medium small" end of
the scale), its crew, and a selection of adventures that will last through
many games.
Game 3, Azhanti
High Lightning - To my knowledge, this is the most expansive set of
starship deckplans ever done. A BIG ship, the Azhanti High Lightning
class
cruiser masses 60,000 tons and is satisfyingly huge enough to please anyone.
This game is also required reading for anyone who thinks that running a
Big Ship campaign might be easy. It isn't, but the payoff can be enormous.
The enclosed booklet (Supplement 5, Lightning Class Cruisers) is
worth the cost of the game itself and presents much useable information
on crewing major starships and keeping them going. The adventuring possibilities
described are outstanding and far-reaching.
STAR TREK®
The Role-Playing Game
The best known of all Big Ships in science
fiction may be the U.S.S. Enterprise. Though the game has little
to do with the STAR FRONTIERS system, the "Starship Combat" section of
the rulebook presents what is probably the best starship command system
for gaming purposes there is. All of the players can take roles
as important ship's officers and have an effect on combat. All too often
it seems that only the one or two players controlling the guns have anything
to do while firing away at the enemy; STAR FRONTIERS game players can adopt
the STAR TREK combat system or some variant of it into their campaigns
to give players more of a chance to work together.
The next issue of
POLYHEDRONTM Newszine will present more
information on Big Ship campaigns, as well as a Big Ship that can be used
as the foundation for STAR FRONTIERS game adventures - the frigate PiniPedikord,
the terror of the spacelanes.
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