Ground Based Series Ideas

[Publius]

The Wind Up: We have seen one (and perhaps two) ground-based campaigns here on the boards (as opposed to space station or ship): the Relic concept is defninitely ground based, and the Bridgetown concept which is perhaps arguable as a kind of station but has some elements which are not (the mines, the fact that it is on a huge chunk of rock etc.). Both of these concepts incorprate some very cool Trek-SF Elements, which is not only a nice testament to those who came up with these concepts but it also helps to set these settings apart from the run-of-the-mill. For Relic this is the Dyson Sphere, a venerable idea which has so many different plot possibilities I feel like Louis Wu trying to take in the Ring. In Bridgetown, this is a kind of Space-based Haven/Outpost which skirts the edge of being a station but does not have that DS9/Starbase 'feel' to it (at least to me, hey, I acknowledged that it could be arguable but I didn't want to leave it out).

And the Pitch! I was just wondering what other kinds of ground based campaign ideas other people may have had, toyed with or are prompted to think about given the question? What makes it unique (like the Dyson Sphere in Relic or the Ancient Alien architecture of Bridgetown)?

[Publius]

Well, ah okay then... (taps the mic)

In case this just needs a helping hand to get started how about something like the following:

There was once an empire spanning over several worlds in the Whatever sector. The Empire grew, as so many do, wanton and petty, devolving into a sadistic regime under the control of a vicious Emperor. The local races rose up, smashing their oppressor and laying waste to the population of the Imperial planet (call it Throneworld for now) with biogenic weapons. The coalition then went on to hold power in the region briefly, before dwindling itself into a debating society as internecine battles rippled periodically between member worlds.

Throneworld itself has been taken and retaken by several societies in the local cluster, which stay for a time, explore what they can and then depart. Rumors of fabulous wealth, hidden technology and degraded remnants of the former rulers of this empire continue. After a Federation survey team discovered large underground vaults containing art and technological artifacts which dated back to the (Icononians/T'kon etc.) the Federation decided to plant a planetside base on the Throneworld with the blessings of the Coalition (which exists on paper). In return, the Coalition has asked the Federation to provide diplomatic assistance and guidance for the 'member' worlds.

Note that the Coalition may or may not know about the Federations recent find, in fact this could be one of those things that there is some secrecy over – not revealing the artifacts is technically bad form, while revealing the artifacts could lead to an explosive conflict situation between the various races of the coalition and/or a new power in the region which the Federation does not want after the Dominion War.

This gives us diplomatic, scientific and espionage based mission possibilities all in a nice package. The station itself is sealed from the exterior, although short term exposure is not permanently dangerous so it allows for some cool forays into the wasted city streets of Throneworld with a breather and/or protective clothing (nice excuse to use the field jackets again). If the biogenic compounds react badly with explosions/energy weapons it gives you yet another possibility for these excursions – use of hand-to-hand or even primitive style weapons like crossbows or compressed air dartguns.

There is an inherent arc involved as well.

• Will the secrets of Excavation Site 466 be revealed? (ongoing plot/subplot theme, used for A or B side of the adventures).
• The nosy 'Vulcan Trader' makes a drop of several Romulan teams on/near the site to analyze rumors of alien goodies, the players must drive them off hopefully without revealing the Excavation Site.
• What does Ambassador Ack!Ack! do once he discovers the Federation knew about the artifacts all along? (And why did his head explode during the Amateur Yodeling Competition?)
• When the blah-blah-whatever come to claim their 'ancestral rights' over the Artifacts what does the Federation do?
• What happens when the monstrous inhabitants of the world return to the surface in great numbers using technology based on the artifacts that they have literally had centuries to examine?

[Robbert Raets]

Originally posted by Publius
hat does Ambassador Ack!Ack! do once he discovers the Federation knew about the artifacts all along? (And why did his head explode during the Amateur Yodeling Competition?)

When the blah-blah-whatever come to claim their 'ancestral rights' over the Artifacts what does the Federation do?

"It belongs in a museum!!"

[Robbert Raets]

Ah, okay, so maybe I should add some real content.

Well, with 'ground-based', all you've really got left is planet- or asteriod-bound adventures. This can be subdivided into:

-War-Torn or Recovering Planet; Bajor before Dominion War or Cardassia after Dominion War.

-Ancient Alien Ruins; T'Kon, Iconians etc. The ruins don't have to be ancient or alien, though. Great possibility for mystery if you take an abandoned/eradicated human colony.

-Colonial; Newly established Federation colony; try adding a subversive element or two for extra fun or tension. Enemy species threat optional.

-(New) Member or (Enemy) Core World; Dimplomacy, Intrigue and Espionage. Great for Role-Playing and Species Interaction.

[Publius]

Very nice, thanks Robbert, much appreciated. Thank you as well for acknowledging my "Mars Attacks" homage the funny thing is that I am not a huge fan of the movie, but the idea of one of the martians from that movie on Star Trek as an Ambassador just struck me as funny while writing that idea up. Blame stress I guess

The whole reason I asked about this subject is that I have just about to finished work on a new set of "Deckplans" (or maybe just "plans" in this case), actually two new sets, but the other one is probably a bit further off before it is nearly finished. The sets are for ground-based installations, quasi-generic (in the sense that they can be tailored to scientific or diplomatic or general purpose outpost-type uses) and modular. Well, the buildings themselves don't have to be modular (although...) as much as the plans are -- you can make a four-level tall site or a eight level site as you find necessary for your story needs. I figured that if anyone had a cool idea for a ground based series, I could tailor something for them to use as an example, but failing that I will simply post something generic and open to modification, like I did for my Regula Station plans.

Thanks again!

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Some time ago, in a thread far far away, I talked about an idea for a mini-campaign that I had.

It dealt with the First Federation leaving the few settled worlds they still claimed and heading for parts unknown. Being allied with the UFP, they asked the UFP to become caretakers of these worlds but only with limited access as the UFP was not yet ready for some of the technological advances of the First Federation.

On one of these planets, the FF granted the UFP the right to establish a small colony.

Also, within the region are some minor powers that are striving to establish a larger dominion but up until now had not gone against the FF due to the mismatch in technology.

The Starfleet team which includes the PCs are assigned the duties of establishing and liasoning with the colonists. They have a small starship to patrol the spacelanes between the FF worlds and the duty to keep them safe until the advent of the FF's return.

But the majority of events would take place on-planet as curious colonists enter restricted regions or the back country so-to-speak. Treasure-seekers, pirates, and other powers arrive trying to slip in and steal FF technology. As well as exploration of the regions and technology that the FF has granted as the UFP teams study what they can of the culture and history of their former allies.

The possibilities for all kinds of adventures exist throughout almost any era after TOS. And now that I have started thinking about this again, I may have to resurrect it.

Regards,
CKV.

[Robbert Raets]

Originally posted by Publius
Thank you as well for acknowledging my "Mars Attacks" homage the funny thing is that I am not a huge fan of the movie, but the idea of one of the martians from that movie on Star Trek as an Ambassador just struck me as funny while writing that idea up.

Heh. That gets me thinkin'as well.... What if 'Minds vastly superior to ours' and a race of Microbes both had a seat on the Federation Council...

[Publius]

I like your concept Capt. Vaughn, it has a lot of science fictional elements to it, making it unique enough to hold interest, spawn adventure ideas and at the same time it has a strong Trek 'feel'. I especially like how it resolves the First Federation's appearance from TOS and subsequent silence. Really nice work! Good luck on your campaign work.

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Thanks Publius, go ahead and borrow the idea if you want. I have so many ideas I know I will never be able to explore them all. I plan to set this sometime prior to the DW as the FF in my campaign made a few appearances in the current TNG timeline before deciding they wanted to find a more peaceful place of residence and not one constantly torn up by war.

Regards,
CKV.

[Publius]

I thought some of you might want to take a peek at my working exterior for the ground-based facility plans:

http://www.digitalindalo.com/rpg/tre.../base_extc.gif (38k)

This of course is not the only way that the structure can be set up (it is modular as mentioned previously), but this graphic gives a good feel for the style. I have pretty much finished the main section shown and I am presently working on some of the other support habitats to go with it, including a power station and a landing pad/hanger structure as well as some optional underground sublevels (in case someone wants their power station to be situated in the main structure's lower sub-levels for instance). Any thoughts?