Archive for May, 2009

Ad Astra: PDQ vs. D6 1:0

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May 10, 2009
by Stargazer in , , , , ,

Yesterday my gaming group assembled to play our first session of “Ad Astra”. Alas I wasn’t able to finish everything I wanted to have written down at that point, but we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. I initially planned to use D6 Space for Ad Astra, but when we sat around the table, ready to create characters, I had an idea. I have been reading Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies for some time now and I think that the PDQ# system can easily be used for SF, too. So I ask my players if they would be willing to give it a try. So, I pulled out my copy of the PDQ# rules and started creating characters. I haven’t run a PDQ game before, so I am not 100% sure how it will turn out but my players are excited and more than ready to give a narrative game a chance.

Two of my players wanted to play espers, so I told them that one of the qualities they could choose, has to be Esper and that this quality would start at Average (0) instead of Good (+2). This makes espers a bit weaker (they can’t soak as much damage as others) but the versatility of the esper quality should make up for it.

As for vehicular/space combat I think of giving each vehicle/space ship a couple of qualities and a weakness of their own. Or I try to adapt the S7s rules for vehicular combat to space ships, when my approach doesn’t work out. When I remember correctly another S7S fan has already started a Star Trek conversion for PDQ, so perhaps I can borrow a few ideas from that project.

But fans of the D6 system should not worry, I haven’t abandoned D6 altogether. It is possible that we’ll return to using D6 at a later date and perhaps I will at least release some of the D6 stuff I’ve created so far for you to use.

Ad Astra Primer

Ad Astra Primer

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May 7, 2009
by Stargazer in , , ,

Today I created an “Ad Astra Primer”, a system-less introduction to my science fiction setting. The 13-page PDF includes all of my Ad Astra posts that I already posted here and a few additional information.

Ad Astra Primer

You can download the PDF here. Enjoy! As always I am interested in your thoughts, so please post your comments below.

Status update

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May 7, 2009
by Stargazer in , , ,

Some of you may have noticed that I posted some Ad Astra stuff this morning and another post will go live soon.
So I am not completely gone. I just can’t turn my back from my blog completely… :) But I probably won’t return to a daily schedule anytime soon.

So, what am I doing right now? Aside from going to work and all that stuff, I waste a lot of time surfing the net and looking for inspiration for my projects. I really should be working on my SF campaign setting Ad Astra, but since I now entered the phase where I have to create the “crunchy” parts, things get more complicated. It’s pretty easy for me to churn out pages of fluff, but modifying d6 Space’s Metaphysics or d6 Adventure’s Psionics to suit my needs is harder than I thought. I also need stats for gear, weapons and a lot of space ships before I can even think about running the game. I hope my players can wait for a few more weeks.

I am also still reading “Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies“. The setting is awesome. What surprised me the most is that the nations of the 7 Skies are actually unique and not just fantasy versions of European nation in the 17th century. I also can’t wait to try out the PDQ# system that S7S uses.

I also bought a copy of “Questers of the Middle Realms” on RPGNow, a humorous fantasy RPG using the PDQ rules. The setting, the “Middle Realms” is a bit generic, but QotMR shows that PDQ can be used even in a high-fantasy campaign.

That brings me to my PDQ Horror project. Inspired by Chgowiz’ posts about the solo games with his wife, I decided to start a solo game with my girlfriend. I wanted to try something new and after some consideration we chose contemporary horror for the setting and PDQ (or perhaps PDQ#) for the rules. Alas I am still struggling with the basics of the setting, since I don’t want to repeat all classic horror clichés. But it’s pretty hard to be truly original.

Stargazer signing off!

Ad Astra: Twilight Star

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May 7, 2009
by Stargazer in , , ,

Although I am still in the middle of my hiatus, I want to share some more information on my Ad Astra setting.

“I want this Twilight Star scum killed on sight!” - General-Emperor Arbach Tovenaar after the attempt on his life

The Twilight Star is a privately funded secret agency that has been around for a couple decades now. Not much is know about this organisation aside from the fact that they are exceptionally well trained and equipped. Usually the public is unaware of the Twilight Star’s operations but when they rescued several high-ranking Gaian members of parliament that were taken prisoner by terrorists, they entered the public awareness. Especially in the Gaian Republic the Twilight Star’s agents are seen as noble rogues, a view not shared by the Tovenaar Empire for example.

The Twilight Star recruits agents from all worlds of the Star Ocean. It is said that they only recruit the best in their fields and that each agent is also trained in all forms of personal combat including archaic weaponry like swords. According to several rumors they own a small fleet of hyperdrive capable ships including the supercarrier “Twilight Star” which is a space ship of huge proportions, dwarving even Tovenaari fleet carriers. Twilight Star operatives usually operate in small groups that disguise themselves as free traders, explorers, prospectors or even mercenaries. They almost always have access to a hyperspace-capable ship and sometimes even to powered armor or spacefighters.

Aside from rumors not much is known about the Twilight Star. The agenda of the Twilight Star is unknown also a lot of people believe they try to hold peace in the Star Ocean by making sure there’s a balance between the four major nations. They supposedly have some close relationship with the Gaian government and the Tovenaar Empire is openly hostile towards them.

My current plans for my Ad Astra campaign is that the players are all Twilight Star operatives working secretly to bring peace and unity to the Star Ocean.

Taking a short break

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May 4, 2009
by Stargazer in ,

I wanted to let you all know that I will take a short break from blogging. I am again at a point where I have the feeling that my creativity batteries have run dry and I need some time to recharge them. At this moment I have no idea how long this break will last. It could be just a few days or perhaps even a couple of weeks. Rest assured that I will come back as soon as possible.

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