Too Many Ideas Syndrome

Too Many Ideas Syndrome. Apparently this is really a thing. It's sometimes called 'idea-ism'. Yeah, I've definitely got it bad right now. 

My lack of posting is not because I have nothing to talk about or show you all but rather the opposite; I have so many RPG concepts runninlg through my head I don't know where to begin. Adding to the problem is that many of them are only half finished and poorly organized. 

Let's start with a 'State of Gaming' update, shall we?

Currently as of this post...

I am playing Hogwarts: A Mystery

Now in its 6th or 7th year, the campaign follows students - currently 5th Years - in House Ravenclaw. It is full of teen angst and drama, setting based angst and drama, action, suspense, and other kinds of angst and drama. The GM is very into making children suffer. No, no...in a good way!

The game runs bi-weekly with my friend Alex as Gamemaster and four players including myself. My character, Francis 'Frank' Pellgrove, goes on the short list of all time favorite PCs I've ever had. The system is a homebrew extremely loosely based on Apocalypse World but really nothing like it at this point. 

I have been running SMURFS

Over the past month I've run a three session scenario and a one-shot scenario using the Quickstart Guide rules for the upcoming Smurfs officially licensed RPG by Maestro Media. I'm pretty much obsessed and I love the game. Getting people to play it may be the biggest challenge one faces with the game but based on my own experience most truly mature gamers will give it a try. After all, those are the people most comfortable with not taking the hobby too seriously. 

Upcoming posts will discuss the Player Characters from both games and later I'll talk about the adventures themselves. 

I am still running Star Trek: Prosperity

Our Original Series era Star Trek Adventures campaign is still going strong, with all the sessions so far this 'season' (Season 8 that is! Eight years of Star Trek: Prosperity! Woohoo!) being good and a few being great! We've had a couple of real bangers! Very much looking forward to the next three missions, the last ending in a 'Season Finale Cliffhanger'!  

This game is [usually] played bi-weekly. I am the Gamemaster and we have four players. It ranks as my longest running single campaign ever. 

Coming up...

I will be running Champions: UNITY again

My weekend group is returning to our Champions campaign after experimenting with a host of other concepts with mixed results. Our campaign is set in yet another version of my friend William Corpening's 'Age of Champions' setting, this time on Champions Earth-Alpha Delta-1A. The campaign is already three years old and the players are eager to get back to their characters and this universe. Actually, one player will be using a new character.

I have mixed feelings on this personally. I am not really feeling 'Superheroes' at the moment and I'm having trouble coming up with a new or interesting angle. Don't get me wrong, I have some ideas for villains and scenarions but I'm lacking...I don't know...that certain something, ya'know? 

I will largely be playing Star Trek: Copernicus

After the Smurfs my Midweek Group is going back to our Star Trek Adventures campaign, Star Trek: Copernicus. This game is...good...sometimes great...sometimes just OK. It's been a tad inconsistent and that's not surprising. We've been doing a 'Revolving GM' situation, with the four players each taking turns as the Narrator when they had a solid adventure idea. Going forward it seems that one of us will be the 'lead' Narrator, having quite a lot of ideas and enthusiasm for the game.

I like my character a lot and that goes a long way towards making the game fun. 

In the near future...

I would like to run Space:1999

A fan of the series and intrigued by the rules, I would love to run a short campaign of this, partially to see if it has legs. That is to say, I'd likely run a three session 'pilot' adventure and gage interest in doing more.

Halloween is coming and I have Spooky Games in mind

Obviously I would love to revisit Ghostbusters. My hope is I'll get to run at least a one-shot scenario with my A&D/'The Home Office' group sometime in October. With any luck I might also be able to set up a Ghostbusters: Tokyo Ghost Research adventure with my friends in Japan. 

On that note, I want to finish my recap of the 'I'm So Embarrassed! My Uncle is a Bullet Train!' game. I'll also post some general ideas for more Ghostbusters RPG paranormal activities (see what I did there?). 

Another one-shot [or maybe two-to-three-shot] I'd love to run is Peekaboo (aka Peekaboo Horror), The Neighborhood Ghost Story TRPG from Japan that I adore but rarely get to the table. I also have a recounting of my first time playing it coming up next month so be on the look out for that. 

Finally...

What should really be an entire post all on its own (and might be soon) is this nagging desire to run...hold on to socks...Fantasy. 

Specifically I am wanting to run Fantasy with an Anime twist. Like...imagine if what I did with Superhero gaming to create The Winghorn Guard and my world of Aerth was done with Anime/Manga tropes in mind. Although Aerth does have considerable Anime/Manga influences already. Hmm. 

I really want to do this but I keep running into two major snags: I just don't love Fantasy gaming for a variety of reasons and I can find a system I really like that does what I want. 

Arrgh! 

*Sigh* Oh well. I'm glad I got that off my chest. Let's finish up with the Smurfs RPG for now so I can move on to other discussions.

Thanks for letting me prattle on.

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Barking Alien 

I've been so busy with Real LifeTM that I've missed some very important acknowledgements.

 

On September 9th of this year the world lost an entertainment icon in the person of James Earl Jones. A multiple award winning pioneer of theatre and film, Jones was a fascinating man before and after his long career of acting and voice overs. While best known to fandom as the voice of Darth Vader and Conan's nemesis Thulsa Doom, I highly recommend looking into this fellow's life outside these roles if you haven't already. Epic. 

Rest in Peace Mister Jones. 

September 24th was the birthday of Muppets creator Jim Henson. I don't even know where to begin talking about my feelings regarding Jim, one of my all time heroes. I've discussed him many times in the past and if you're interested you can look back to previous posts on the man. Henson is another fellow I suggest reading up on for the incredible life he lead and the impact he had on generations of fans and creatives. A documentary about him entitled 'Jim Henson Idea Man' is currently available on Disney+ and while it was tough for me to watch I definitely suggest checking it out. 

September 25th, yesterday, was the birthday of the amazing Mark Hamill. Actor, voice actor, and vigilant, outspoken, opponent of stupidity, Mark is a gawd dang national treasure. Happy Birthday Mark!

A Giant Leap for Mankind or A Stumble in the Dark?

Is this an April Fools prank? A hoax? No?? It's real? Really real?

It's not my birthday. It isn't Xmas or Hanukkah. Life Day?

How can this be true? 

Well it is...it definitely is...

Modiphius Entertainment, the makers of my beloved Star Trek Adventurers, have announced that they are making a Space:1999 Roleplaying Game. 

I've brought up Space:1999, the British Science Fiction TV Series, only a few times in the past and as some may remember, that's the tagline for my Thorough Thursdays series. I had always intended to do a Thorough Thursdays about this show but never got around to it much to my dismay. Now I have every reason to do so...only its Saturday. Drat. Oh well, the show must go on! I'm too excited about this to wait until next week. 

I caught the show when it first aired in the US in 1975 and instantly fell in love. It was like a  a cross between Lost in Space and Star Trek, yet distinctly different in setting, plot, and atmosphere from both of those shows. The stories were somewhat darker and more surreal. The science of it was often wonky (Isaac Asimov famously lambasted the 'science' of the series in Cue Magazine in 1975) yet somehow gave off the feeling of being more 'realistic' due to its tone and look. 

I for one ate it up. I had the Mattel Eagle 1 Spaceship (the Eagle Transporter), action figures, the toy prop Stun Gun and Communicator, and even went as a Moonbase Alpha crewman one Halloween (not a store bought costume but a total homebrew - long sleeve colored shirt underneath another white one with one sleeve removed. Vintage/second hand clothes are magic). 

I've always wanted to run a Space:1999 RPG but never have as best I can recall. The series has absolutely influenced many of my Sci-Fi campaigns such as Star Trek, Traveller, Red Dwarf, and more but I have never done a dedicated Space:1999 game. The reasons for this are really three fold:

While I was and am a fan of Space:1999, my working knowledge of the setting and its elements is no where near as strong as those of Star Trek, Star Wars, ALIEN, or Red Dwarf. I would need to re-familiarize myself with the series in a big way in order to feel comfortable running it as a campaign. 

Am I alone in my love for Space:1999? I've seen a lot of people on the internet surprised that Modiphius chose this particular franchise to produce as an RPG. Most noted positive but only vague memories of the show or a hope that some other Gerry Anderson property would be made into a game (most notably UFO or Thunderbirds). My concern now is the same as it was in the past - do enough people know about and like Space:1999 enough for me to find players?

Lastly, the setting focuses on one 'world', Earth's Moon. On it is a single, large base known as Moonbase Alpha which is occupied by 311 crewmembers*. That's kind of limiting when compared to the settings of other modern SF RPGs. In the RPG to come, are you one of the 311 on Alpha? Don't we know we (the Player Characters) aren't the ones in charge unless the players are controlling John Koenig, Helena Russell, or Alan Carter?

The question that comes to mind would be the same one I'd have if I were running a Star Trek campaign set on the original series Enterprise; if we come upon a derelict alien vessel and we're not playing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, how is it that the PCs get to go on a mission to investigate it? If we are assigned to accompany the leads, do the NPCs (again, Kirk, Spock, McCoy) decide what to do? That doesn't sound like fun even though it makes internal sense.

Personally, I am very excited to see this game and will definitely be picking it up. I do hope that the book dedicates a significant portion of the GM section to how you play this given the parameters of the milieu.

Until then, "Loyalty is better than logic; Hope is better than despair; Creation is better than destruction".

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Barking Alien

*Between character deaths and new births during the course of the show's two seasons, Moonbase Alpha has approximately 284 occupants (including at least one baby as I recall). 

STAR TREK - POLARIS

For this next installment of Campaigns I Have Known, we're going to go to Warp 9, slingshot around the Sun, and travel all the way back to 1983.

This my dear friends is one of my earliest campaigns for one of my favorite games. Based on a suggestion/recommendation by my good buddy WQRobb, here is a campaign classic...

The campaign came about as the result of an impromptu RPG session thrown together because we had a few free periods at school. It was likely the result of some special assembly, or a teacher's union meeting, or some such. Anyway, for whatever reason, my friends and I had the time, we had the freedom, and we decided to get a game together.

This was a fairly common occurrence. Throwing a Star Trek game together I mean. It was our go-to game at the time. We would roll up officers, pick a ship, and head off into the Final Frontier on some crazy, ad-libbed adventure that would pop into my head.

We must've made a dozen crews, named a dozen different Starfleet vessels, and visited a dozen planets that were never seen again.

Mini-rant...Honestly, I can't understand people who play the same character every time they play a game. That, or they reuse old characters again, and again. Sure, we all have favorites. I've reused characters a number of times myself. I do it in Superhero games more than any other genre, and always after years of not using the character. C'mon people, stretch that ol' imagination. Don't be lazy....Mini-rant over.

Where was I? Oh yes...

So in this one instance, just like many before it, the players generated some Star Trek characters, and I prepared for our mission. There were a few things that made this particular outing special as I recall.

• For some reason, most of the players wanted to play Andorian characters.
• We wanted to use lower ranked characters, on a smaller, less powerful ship.
• We set the game in the era of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, instead of TOS.

I had gotten a hold of a fanzine somewhere, and low and behold, there was an original [fan created] ship in there that I really liked. It was labelled a Research/Survey vessel and fit the bill of the kind of ship we were thinking about. I showed it to the group, and it was unanimously voted so strange looking that we just had to use it.

I'll be honest, I don't remember the first session beyond that. I can't for the life of me recall the scenario. I remember we had fun though. We all liked the characters, the vessel, and the speculative science, mystery-solving, 'big idea' nature of the adventure. It was Star Trek as heavily influenced by Space: 1999, and OMNI Magazine.

It was a hit. More so than I had realized.

When the opportunity to run a quick adventure came up again a few weeks later, the group asked if I still had the characters sheets, and stats for the USS Polaris, our vessel. I did. For some reason I not only didn't throw them away, or lose them (as I did so many other one-shot game materials at the time), but I actually left them in a folder in my backpack (or book bag as we used to say).

We ended up playing them again. And again. Before long, we all looked at each other, smiled, nodded, and agreed - this was our new campaign. We couldn't have planned one better ourselves.

 ***

Campaigns I Have Known

Proudly Presents...

STAR TREK - POLARIS

 Pleiades Class Research/Survey Vessel

The vessel first appeared in an article in
the Star Trek fanzine, 'Warp Factor One'
written by Don Corson - Publication Date 1976

Title: STAR TREK - POLARIS

System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game (FASA), 1st Edition.

Circa: 1983. There were approximately three dozen sessions in this campaign. Early on there was no set schedule, then by the mid-way point it was short 4-5 hour sessions once, or twice a week, and one 8-10 hour Saturday session a month.

Player Base: Our core group consisted of five male players, all about 14 years of age. Other players would pop in and out playing 'guest star'* roles on a fairly regular basis. While no one guest star appeared more then five, or six times, I do recall that one of the last sessions had about 8-9 players. It is possible that ship's Chief Medical Officer may have shown up more than 6 times, but I'm not positive.

This was actually a common dynamic in our games from 1982-1986.

Characters: As noted above, this was a pick up game initially. We had some time to kill, decided to play a Star Trek game, and threw some characters together. Oddly, one guy had been itching to play an Andorian, one always played an Andorian, and then another was like, "Hey, why don't we all play Andorians!" It didn't end up exactly that way, but it was a largely Andorian crew, which was awesome for me since they're my favorite Star Trek species.

Sadly, this is where my memory betrays me. I don't recall any of the PCs' names. I'm so ashamed.

I recall who played what type of character, species, rank, and what their position was aboard the ship. Just no names. It was 33 years ago. Cut me some slack.

Andorian, Male, Commander - Commanding Officer (played by Chris D.)

Our commanding officer was a career Starfleet Officer from a long line of Starfleet, and Andorian Imperial Guard personnel. He hailed from Andor (aka Andoria, Andor Prime, or Epsilon Indi VIII), but largely grew up on flights between his homeworld, and Earth. As such, he is especially good at dealing with other species, particularly Humans.

The Polaris was his first command, but he had spent years on a Miranda Class (called an Anton Class in the old FASA game) that had performed exploration missions near the Klingon border. The commander was not a fan of the Klingons.

Andorian, Male, Lt. Commander - First Officer/Chief Helmsman (played by ?)

(I sadly can't recall who played this character, which is very strange. A true, and slightly scary sign that I'm getting old. Also, that this was a long time ago. How can I not remember who played the First Officer? I remember the character, just not the player. So odd.).

A more disciplined, by-the-book fellow than his Commanding Officer, the First Officer was an excellent military man, having engaged in a number of conflicts while serving on his previous post (a Scout/Destroyer if I recall). His best skills are Starship Weaponry, Shields, and Ship-To-Ship Tactics.

The First Officer grew up on an Andorian colony some distance from Earth, and was unfamiliar with other species prior to attending Starfleet Academy.

Human, Male, Lieutenant  - Chief Science Officer (played by David F.)
 
The only Human being about the USS Polaris, the Chief Science Officer initially experiences quite a bit of resentment, and resistance from his fellow crewmembers. Recommended to the position by the former Andorian, Chief Science Officer, now retired, much of the staff of the Polaris felt the position should be awarded to another Andorian.

Through perseverance, skill, and confidence, the Science Officer turns things around, gaining the friendship, and admiration of his peers, and subordinates alike. He has a possible [off screen] romance with the Asst. Chief Helm Officer (a PC guest star).

Megarite, Male, Lieutenant - Chief Engineer (played by Joe C.)

The other non-Andorian member on the command crew was the ship's Chief Engineer, a Megarite. Megarites are an humanoid, aquatic mammalian species, similar to Terran Whales. They communicate through bellows of varying tones, volumes, and frequencies. While they normally  breathe air, they do have gill-like membranes that can extract oxygen from water for a limited time. His skin was similar to the hide of a Terran rhinoceros.

The Chief Engineer was warm, gregarious, and saw the crew as extended family.

Megarite

Concept Art and Costuming

from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Andorian, Male, Chief Petty Officer - Chief of Security (played by Bruce D.)

Our toughest customer in personal combat was no doubt our Chief of Security. Well versed in the use of his fists, feet, swords, phasers, and demolitions, this guy meant serious business.

Hailing from a failed colony world and having something of a checkered past, this guy was given a chance by the Polaris' Commanding Officer and the two are old friends.

Guest Stars Included:

A Female, Andorian, Helmsman - Lt. Junior Grade -  who covered for the First Officer when he was on landing parties. She was identified as the Assistant Chief Helmsman.

Illustration by Adam Cotnam.

Coloring By Adam Dickstein (that's me!)

An Andorian, Male, Shuttlecraft Pilot who also sometimes doubled as a Navigator on the bridge.

Andorian, Male, Doctor - Chief Medical Officer of the USS Polaris. He was a Guest Star, but joined us for a good number of sessions (probably 6, but maybe more). He was often used as an NPC while the player was not around (one of the first times I did that).

While the bridge/command crew only had two non-Andorians, there were a few others onboard. Roughly 5% of the total crew compliment of around 175 crewmembers were not Andorian.

Some other guest stars were:

A Male, Vulcan, Geologist who desperately wanted to be reassigned because of how cold the ship was (we decided Andorian 'room temperature' is considerably lower than Human standards).

A Female, Caitian, Bio-chemist. Also something of a nurse/field medic.

A Male, Zaranite, Engineer specializing in Phaser technology.

Synopsis: There was no real overarching metaplot in this campaign. Instead, I used a very sandbox approach, letting the Commander and crew choose which planets they wanted to study in an area of space not too far from the Organian Treaty Zone, and therefore the Klingon Empire.

Klingons were the main antagonists (one of my rare campaigns that used them much), but other reoccurring opponents included Orion Pirates, the Gorn, and an original species of weird, 'War of the Worlds Martian' type squid things.

Most of the sessions focused on some heady science fiction concept, not unlike the original Star Trek series, but in some ways more like Space: 1999, or Red Dwarf. That is, it was less about the moral, and social issues of the time, and more about exploring scientific theories, and 'What If?'s.

Appendix N: Obviously the original Star Trek television series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were the primary influences.

Additionally, a major inspiration for the campaigns' individual adventures came from articles in OMNI Magazine. Various classic Science Fiction novels and short stories, such as those by Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, Alfred Bester, and others, were also a source of scenario ideas.

Bonus Features:

We really had a great layout for the interior of the USS Polaris. It had an unusual bridge design created by my friend Joe and myself. We mapped out a good portion of the ship including the Sickbay, Shuttle Bay, Engine Room, Mess Hall, and major laboratories.

The ship started with two standard Shuttlecraft but later we modified one into an original design that was more like a mini-scout ship.

I was reading a lot of scientific books, and magazines at the time and this also influenced the type of adventures we had.

The campaign never had a definitive ending. I don't recall what happened to make us change games, but it was probably no more weighty an event than we found a new game we really want to try.

*I'm wondering if I should do a post in the near future on 'Guest Stars', a gaming tool I've been using for years that enables people to drop in, and out of campaigns easily.

Any interest in that? Does anyone else have that as part of their games?

See you again soon!

Oh wait! Happy Leap Day! Hurray for the end of the month of February >_<

Also, Happy Birthday Superman!

AD
Barking Alien

For Future Reference

Inspired by Erin Palette's post revealing the star-spanning vessel used in her Traveller campaign, I thought I'd take a moment and show you the one from ours.



This vessel is designated as a Laboratory Cutter, similar to and yet very different from the traditional Lab Ship normally encountered in Classic Traveller.

The original Lab Ship is a ring with a pylon/tube extending from the inside of the ring to the center space where a small launch (shuttle) connects with the vessel. In this design, the ring is the ship, with the launch merely a support vessel.

In our version, based on a design created by my friend and I about 15 years ago, the ring houses the labs, staterooms and other elements but the control deck/bridge, Jump Drive and such are part of a modular cutter that connects to the ring is a fashion similar to the classic version.

The major difference is that in the original the ring is the ship. In the version above, the cutter is the ship and the ring is the support vessel.

Due to the need to depict the vessel's interior as clearly as possible, the lab/support ring has been omitted for clarity. I may show an interior shot of that in an upcming post. The overall design of the central cutter is based on the 'Super Swift' from Space:1999. 

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Barking Alien

Thinking Smaller On Big Ideas

A lot of people, certainly a lot of GMs I know, start simple or small and add details as they go.

Maybe it's a single town with a dungeon near by or the starport and some alien ruins but as time goes on it will become a town near a city that's in a kingdom on a continent, etc.

I don't always (usually) work that way. I try to. I wish I did. No, I start huge and epic and have developed the rather odd skill of learning to edit and hold off and pull the camera in tighter.

While thinking about my upcoming Traveller game for example, I came up with some such idea that reminded me of Red Dwarf (the British Sci-Fi Sitcom that I can't believe I haven't mentioned more often on this blog as I love it so much). That somehow got me looking up pictures of ships from the show on Google, which lead me to thinking how much the Omega Planet Skipper from EXONAUTS' site would fit a slightly more serious version of that universe, not to mention Space:1999, which got me thinking of the InSpace/Space:1999 idea I had and BOOOM!

Gaming Epiphany!

Picture a Traveller game in which the players start out as the typical Space Truckdrivers/Serenity(bleh) group of ner do well troubleshooters when a misjump or some other accident sends them millions of years in the future.

The last Humans alive in the universe (perhaps) with maybe an android or uplifted animal companion for extra fun, they have to maintain their ship and stay alive just to find out if there is any life in the universe not entirely hostile to them. Maybe they want to find out what happened to Humanity. Maybe they want to find Earth. Maybe they want to find some tropical planet somewhere and just lie on the beach forever drinking cool drinks with umbrella's in them.

Refining it, the idea works best as Red Dwarf with a side order of InSpace. Big, high concept science fiction like Solaris, Forbidden Planet, and 2001: A Space Odyssey would be crossing paths with the occasional remnant civilization of genetically engineered creatures or renegade robots left behind by a dead-beat Humanity.

Personally I think the concept is awesome but I also thinking it would be hard for my current group to 'get' the idea. I can't be too tongue-in-cheek with these guys even though we joke around a lot. They like their gaming serious and aren't adept at understanding my dramatic comedy or comedic but serious game ideas.

I now have to start widdling this down to see if I can use any of it with them or just scrap it and start from scratch.

Hmmm...or I could just save it for the New Jersey Group. Ah, Jersey.

Who said that?! >_<

OK, OK...something less amazing...

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Barking Alien

A Giant Leap For Mankind...More Like A Stumble In The Dark

Is this my next big game idea...

Hmmm...could be.

"We' re all aliens...until we get to know one another."

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Barking Alien