The recent post over on Oddysey's blog about Six Traveller Campaign and Adventure Ideas has some good suggestions for space opera campaigns (my personal favorite being Space Ship Rockstar.) And while intended for use with Classic Traveller they're just as appropriate for any space opera game, such as Mekton Z. So to take this idea and run with it a bit, here are a few more tried-and-true space opera campaigns to have fun with.
Interstellar Patrol: The PCs are members of a service charged with keeping the peace and maintaining the safety of the spaceways. Whether it's fending off an alien menace, taking down a crooked trader, rescuing starships in danger, or ending a space-pirate's reign of terror your valiant crew is up to the task. You may even be assigned to top-secret missions that will take you undercover in the most dangerous corners of the galaxy. If it just weren't for all that red tape...
Colonial Convoy: The PCs are tasked with escorting a group of colonists to their new planet. The goal of the PC ship's officers or scouts is get the colonists to their destination in one piece. They may in one huge colony ship, or a fleet of smaller vessels. En route there can be any manner of complications, such as mechanical malfunctions (loss of artificial gravity, breakdown of FTL drive, etc.), contaminated stores, space-pirates, hostile aliens, disease, and natural disasters. Along the way you'll encounter numerous interesting planets and space stations offering rest and resupply -- as well as further tricky situations. And even once you get the colonists to their new planet they have to tame it...
Asteroid Miners: Among the whirling rocks of the asteroid belt is a fortune waiting to be had. Prospectors stake their claims and hope to find the valuable substances (and alien relics) that will make their fortunes, all the while surviving a hostile environment and fending off claim-jumpers. And in the wild boom town on that large asteroid you'll find the casinos and sexroids to squander your earnings on. Just watch out for the cutthroats and vigilantes. And don't limit yourself to asteroids. Miners can be found extracting metallic hydrogen from the clouds of gas giants, or in rubber science games, on platforms extracting unobtainium from the corona of stars.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Appendix N(evitable)
Here's yet another Appendix N consisting of the 20 classic sf authors who have most influenced me. As an added bonus I even explain why I like them. How about that?
Poul Anderson
His Psychotechnic/Technic stories show you can have colorful space opera that is scientifically realistic.
Isaac Asimov
Three Laws of Robotics. 'Nuff said.
Barrington J. Bayley
He packs more ideas into a single book than many writers manage in a lifetime.
Leigh Brackett
The queen of planetary romance.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
A red-blooded storyteller and a pioneering world builder (despite his often disagreeable attitudes) and the guy I swiped my blog's name from.
Jack L. Chalker
His Well World series are classics.
A. Bertram Chandler
He wrote some of the most convincing navy-in-space stories.
Arthur C. Clarke
Creator of Rama, the archetypal Big Dumb Object.
Alan Dean Foster
His Humanx series is great space opera and it's still going strong. (In the first game I ever GMed I let one of the players be a Tran -- and it was a fantasy game.)
Edmond Hamilton
Pioneer of space opera and creator of Captain Future.
Keith Laumer
His satirical Retief stories are just plain hilarious.
Murray Leinster
A grandmaster who I've ripped-off so many times it's not funny.
Michael Moorcock
Aside from from being a brilliant writer and inventing the character I stole my nom de blog from, he showed the possibilities of the multiverse as a narrative device.
Andre Norton
Another queen of the genre whose stories, although written for young adults, are an endless source of ideas.
Frederik Pohl
Pohl's Gateway is a campaign all by itself.
E. E. "Doc" Smith
The father of space opera.
Fred Saberhagen
His Berserker stories are the only military SF I can relate too.
H. G. Wells
A pioneer of the genre who wrote great stories that also included subtle social commentaries, and father of modern table top miniature games.
Jack Vance
A master world builder who packs more ideas into one book than most people do into an entire series.
A. E. van Vogt
One of the most influential (and weirdest) SF authors of all time. I'll blog more about him sometime.
...and others too numerous to mention.
Poul Anderson
His Psychotechnic/Technic stories show you can have colorful space opera that is scientifically realistic.
Isaac Asimov
Three Laws of Robotics. 'Nuff said.
Barrington J. Bayley
He packs more ideas into a single book than many writers manage in a lifetime.
Leigh Brackett
The queen of planetary romance.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
A red-blooded storyteller and a pioneering world builder (despite his often disagreeable attitudes) and the guy I swiped my blog's name from.
Jack L. Chalker
His Well World series are classics.
A. Bertram Chandler
He wrote some of the most convincing navy-in-space stories.
Arthur C. Clarke
Creator of Rama, the archetypal Big Dumb Object.
Alan Dean Foster
His Humanx series is great space opera and it's still going strong. (In the first game I ever GMed I let one of the players be a Tran -- and it was a fantasy game.)
Edmond Hamilton
Pioneer of space opera and creator of Captain Future.
Keith Laumer
His satirical Retief stories are just plain hilarious.
Murray Leinster
A grandmaster who I've ripped-off so many times it's not funny.
Michael Moorcock
Aside from from being a brilliant writer and inventing the character I stole my nom de blog from, he showed the possibilities of the multiverse as a narrative device.
Andre Norton
Another queen of the genre whose stories, although written for young adults, are an endless source of ideas.
Frederik Pohl
Pohl's Gateway is a campaign all by itself.
E. E. "Doc" Smith
The father of space opera.
Fred Saberhagen
His Berserker stories are the only military SF I can relate too.
H. G. Wells
A pioneer of the genre who wrote great stories that also included subtle social commentaries, and father of modern table top miniature games.
Jack Vance
A master world builder who packs more ideas into one book than most people do into an entire series.
A. E. van Vogt
One of the most influential (and weirdest) SF authors of all time. I'll blog more about him sometime.
...and others too numerous to mention.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Mekton Z Star Trek Pt. 04
MZST: メクトン Z 宇宙大作戦
What if Star Trek were an anime?
Finally, the trusty starship...
And the implacable foe...
NB: These ships were built using the basic construction rules in the Mekton Z rulebook because combat is not going to be the focus of a MZST series. They are based on the on-screen performance of the ships rather than in-show dialogue about the ships.
What if Star Trek were an anime?
Finally, the trusty starship...
And the implacable foe...
NB: These ships were built using the basic construction rules in the Mekton Z rulebook because combat is not going to be the focus of a MZST series. They are based on the on-screen performance of the ships rather than in-show dialogue about the ships.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Mekton Z Star Trek Pt. 03
MZST: メクトン Z 宇宙大作戦
What if Star Trek were an anime?
The cantankerous ship's surgeon...
The ship's armory...
What if Star Trek were an anime?
The cantankerous ship's surgeon...
The ship's armory...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dumping dump stats
A post today by Recursion King tackles the issue of dump stats. We've all seen it happen. A player will throw heaps of points into STR or DEX while stiffing CHA with as few as possible. The best solution to this is something I picked up from Greg Porter's rpgs. It's simple, straightforward and eliminates the problem at the point of character generation. The answer is to rule that a character's highest stat can't be more than twice their lowest stat. Trying to get by with a CHA of 5? That means your STR can't be more than 10. Want a CON of 16? Then forget about sticking only 6 points in INT.
The obvious exception to this rule is if lopsided stats are part of the character's persona and the player in question can be counted on to role-play the character faithfully. But players like that aren't the problem. This rule is intended to deal with your typical min-maxing munchkin. It works for me and I hope if you're having a problem with dump stats in your game it'll work for you too.
Or you could just play a random stat roll game like Call of Cthulhu...if you dare!
The obvious exception to this rule is if lopsided stats are part of the character's persona and the player in question can be counted on to role-play the character faithfully. But players like that aren't the problem. This rule is intended to deal with your typical min-maxing munchkin. It works for me and I hope if you're having a problem with dump stats in your game it'll work for you too.
Or you could just play a random stat roll game like Call of Cthulhu...if you dare!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Mekton Z Star Trek Pt. 02
MZST: メクトン Z 宇宙大作戦
What if Star Trek were an anime?
The unusual first officer...
What if Star Trek were an anime?
The unusual first officer...
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