Star Hero
Science Fiction Roleplaying in the worlds of the future!
3,362 topics in this forum
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People have always been attempting to improve upon their ability to communicate. In times past, they used voice, writing, animal, painting, smoke, and (more recently) electronic method. All of these are in the effort of making it so that people can communicate greater information, more clearly, with better speed. Each form has its problem that people are trying to overcome. The electronic method is our current best method, but there is the problems of energy efficiency and speed (that of light speed). As there becomes more people and we spread to more planets, both will become greater issues. People will need to look for other alternatives for their communica…
Last reply by Cancer, -
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Apparently none of them could be another Krypton.
Last reply by Scott Ruggels, -
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I think this was done in the latest Shadowrun edition, where everything is in the Matrix. I'm coming up with my own setting mixing alien pawns/characters from Cyberpunk/Battletech and Starfinder. So we have aliens, (human-sized) mecha and cyberpunks loaded on the mapboard on my table right now. All I am missing is names, backgrounds and some cool gadgets for these folks until I can kick off the scenario. So I have a group of tough guys with numerous mecha to aid them about to blast into a bar (from CPRed beginner box) and try to capture a hacker (one of the group inside). Inside there is a mech, a rifleman and the hacker. What I thought would give the scenario…
Last reply by Kealios, -
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. . .or not. Looking at how people entertain themselves over time makes one wonder how little things have really changed. Best forms of entertainment in antiquity were races, strength-based, agility-honing, or strategic. Today, the games most revered will all have some version of the above, just with electronic overlay. Looking into the future, I am expecting that electronic treatment to get more so in the games. I was wondering if anyone saw things differently, any flaws in reasoning. Anything else that you would like to add would be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by Scott Ruggels, -
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A long time ago, in theaters far, far away... hordes of sci-fi geeks gathered to watch the "final" *cough, cough* chapter of the galactic war that had been raging for years as Darth Vader and his Emperor tried to eliminate the Rebel Alliance once and for all. "Return of the Jedi" is celebrating its own 40th birthday by returning to Terrestrial cinemas. It will be re-released on April 28 and run through Star Wars Day, May 4. https://www.starwars.com/news/swce-2023-return-of-the-jedi-40th-anniversary May the Fourth be with you!
Last reply by archer, -
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That's the title. World-Building: A Writer's Guide to Constructing Star Systems and Life-Supporting Planets, by Stephen L. Gillett. Published 1996, so it'sw B. E. (Before Exoplanets) -- but Gillett still has some nifty ideas for worlds and a lot of useful basic info on astronomy, geology and their intersection. It's part of a series of handbooks for SF writers edited by Ben Bova. My personal favorite is the co-orbital pair, in which two bodies regularly switch their orbits back and forth. Gillett says that two of Saturn's moons (Janus and Epimetheus) actually do this! (These linked orbits are also called "horseshoe orbits" from the way each orbit looks from the frame …
Last reply by tkdguy, -
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https://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-traveller-sandbox.html?m=1 The example is Traveller, but works well as basic advice for a sandbox style campaign. Additionally, you can tag player’s life path results to the map notes as well to give folks a deeper background, and ties to the location.
Last reply by GDShore, -
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I have decided to completely redo my rather large vehicle template collection for Hero Designer heres an example TV Tracked Vehicle Template.hdt TV Tracked Vehicle Template.TXT
Last reply by shadowcat1313, -
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So, I've been toying around with statting up shmups as extra starships in a sci-fi game. Shmups, for those who don't recognize the acronym, are SHoot-'eM-UPS -- video games where you pilot a ship (almost always a fighter-style starship) around a scrolling map and try to shoot opponents while avoiding getting shot yourself. A few of the more popular shmups get some fluff text, which describes the imaginary capabilities of the ships in question -- which is always fun to convert to Hero System. Anyway, I figured the easiest way would be to start with a "generic shmup," a ship sheet that shows the assumed capabilities of a hypothetical generic shmupcraft. I'll post what …
Last reply by AlHazred, -
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So, I'm working on my own starship design and classification system, and some interesting dilemmas have come up. The first one is "what, practically speaking, is the distinction between a 'space torpedo' and a garden variety 'space missile'? " I tried to think about the qualities of a "torpedo" vs a "missile" and what I can come up with so far: torpedoes may be slower but harder hitting, and it may be possible to evade a space torpedo. Another option is that the torpedo essentially becomes a ball of energy of some sort(plasma?) when fired, so that conventional missile defence/deflection tends to be less effective against it. That might also explain it being less…
Last reply by Cancer, -
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A decade ago, the United Worlds and Vorn were at war. Just as we never knew why they attacked, we never knew why they withdrew from U.W. space, but given the losses suffered, we were glad they did. The Vorn remain a weight on the minds of U.W. military planners, but life goes on for everyone else. From the domes covering the frozen wastes of Tawhirimatea to the lush jungles of Yewel, humans the other races of the U.W. live, work and squabble on dozens of inhabited worlds, deal with the everchanging Jodoni demenses, wonder about the aloof, cryptically prescient Ethereans, and worry about what was important enough to the Vorn to have them retreat when their victory wa…
Last reply by BigJackBrass, -
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An example of World Building I haven't seen the likes of since the 1990s. Artist’s Tumblr: https://iguanodont.tumblr.com/ Artist’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/iguanodentist
Last reply by DentArthurDent, -
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I got thinking recently about the different ways that people attempt to create energy. In ancient times, people had muscle power in some form, either human or animal. Eventually we figured out power of moving water, then came other forms of power that are either more powerful or portable (or both). Today we possess a wide array of ways to create power - muscle, hydro, steam, wind, petroleum, solar, among MANY more. Including discussion about their strengths and weaknesses, I would like for us to brainstorm possible ways people can create energy that either are only theory today or not even at that stage, might even talk about completely fictional sources - tho…
Last reply by novi, -
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Hey, I am running Rescue at Karadonna at Midwinter Con next year and if I could find a character pack for Alien Wars it would make things easier. So, does anyone one knows if there is a character pack? I didn't see it in the store.
Last reply by Steve, -
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All the package deals, equipment and vehicles from Alien Wars in Hero Designer format for only $5.99! Cool!
Last reply by Steve, -
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If I missed it, please let me know where... If not, does anyone have a conversion of Endurance to Joule (J) or have suggestions to design one that does a reasonable job of making energy expenditures consistent? i.e. size solar from panels to charge a space station vs an exotic material battery
Last reply by DentArthurDent, -
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So someone mentioned the issues with monetary systems for Space Opera campaigns but I would like to discuss what would be the most likely system in a world that survives nuclear Armageddon! James Axler's Deathlands books to my mind have the best idea. Bullets! Ammunition! In a world where everyone is scavenging the dead husks of nuked out cities with a population less than 10% the world was before the catastrophe the main source of power would be guns. Guns are useless without ammo so it stands to reason the one commodity everyone would want to barter for would be ammunition. Finding guns might be easy given the number of gun stores and the gun…
Last reply by DentArthurDent, -
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Hi! Concerning the possibility of aliens speaking English, on a scale of one to ten ("one" being "No extraterrestrials speak English and meaningful communication between them and humans is virtually impossible." and "ten" being "Everyone speaks English and no one bats an eye; the frequently featured 'universal translator' may not even be required."), where do your science-fiction games reside?
Last reply by Scott Ruggels, -
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A couple of threads that were talking about Traveller hero made me think back to the old games a traveler that I used to really enjoy and the new games that frankly just aren’t as fun. When I played the old games the universe was an unknown, exploration was the big thing and even a small starship could have an impact. In the new traveler, not really new but super developed, the unknown is not really a thing it feels more like playing in a Star Trek Star Wars setting rather than a frontier setting. I think the issue is that technology is far too available and travel between the stars is far too easy. So I started thinking about what exactly changed and I decided to go back…
Last reply by Duke Bushido, -
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In my game, the hyperdrive is the main method of FTL travel. It is a clone of the Traveller jump drive, with a maximum of Jump-2 (2 parsecs, taking 1 week). Ships carry enough proton fuel for anywhere from 1 to 4 jumps before needing to refuel. Paired with fuel scoops, ships can refuel from gas giants or oceans. Hyperdrive: Teleportation 62m, MegaRange (1m = 1 trillion km; +4) (310 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Week, -4 1/2), OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), 4 Fuel Charges (Recovers Under Limited Circumstances; -1 1/4), Conditional Power (Power does not work in Common Circumstances) (Non-Functional In A Gravity Well; -1/2), Requires A Roll (Skill roll; Dimensional Naviga…
Last reply by Duke Bushido, -
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One of the biggest problems with weapon deployment for infantry in the 24th Century was logistics-deploying massive amount of infantry weapons for the United Army. There was no practial way-with the early hyperdrives and engines-that an army could be properly supported with ammo, food, and stockpiles across interstellar distances. LogCom (Logistics Command) searched, and found an easy solution to one of the biggest problems. Chemical-propellant firearms had topped off in the mid-22nd Century with electro-thermal propellants, with the newest innovations merely introducing a level of compactness and reliability to the design. When the first hyperdrives were deployed…
Last reply by Scott Ruggels, -
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Last reply by Tom Cowan, -
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So, I'm running a Star Trek game on Hero. The PCs are crew members of an Ambassador Class ship (think Enterprise C) in 2380 (post Star Trek: Nemesis). I am assuming that the ship has civilians on board like the Odyssey class ships we saw in Next Gen, both dependents of Starfleet personnel and civilian contractors. My question is: what do the civilians on board a starfleet vessel do to pass the time and feel productive? The only examples I can remember from Next Gen are Wesley Crusher, a teenage genius who became an acting crew member and later a starfleet cadet; Keiko O'Brien, a biologist who passed the time teaching; and Guinan, who ran the bar/lounge and was not a depen…
Last reply by Old Man, -
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With season three starting, I think this show is really finding its legs. I wasn’t terribly impressed by the first season, but the second season showed some improvement. The new season shows even more. The dialog still reminds me of an RPG group playing a homebrew Star Trek game though, which does add to the humor factor.
Last reply by Scott Ruggels, -
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I read Terracide both in its "original" form as a handful of documents on surbrook.devermore.net, and in the form of the pdf (quite neat! Has some good ideas for how to handle "hard SF" aliens in the RPG context, particularly with the Titans). I remember the stuff about "steampunk ice age yetis" or whatever it was that was supposed to be the intelligent species on an "Earthlike" alien world, but, it appears that in the editing of Terracide, details of this were cut. The GM's section says: However, there is no section on Xi Scorpii D. So far as some CTRL+Fing can find, there's only a couple insinuating mentions of a potential 'new Earth' in reference to …
Last reply by Haemolyph,
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