My new campaign

[nightbringer256]

i'm starting a new pulp hero game. i just wanted you guys to take a look at my setting and history and tell me what you think and critique it

 

Historical Overview

 

• Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had his first successful airship flight in 1898 in Germany.

 

• The Wright brothers died in 1899 in a tragic fire.

 

• 1900 zeppelin travel becomes commonplace

 

• 1905 first plane invented, flew for 30 seconds before crashing

 

• 1914 the first world war is started

 

• 1916 United States declares neutrality and supplies both sides of the war

 

• 1928 WW1 ends in a draw when Britain signs the treaty of Paris. As part of the treaty Germany gave Britain back the lower half of England in return for the western part of France. Leaving Germany a rather large holding of land

(i attached a map)

 

• 1935 (present) an uneasy peace exists between Germany and the rest of Europe. The US has become an economic power house buy selling supplies to both sides.

 

and then i have the airship stuff writen up here:

 

Airships

 

Primary compartments

Bridge: main command center of airship

• Captain’s chair: where the captain commands from. Can communicate to the rest of the ship

• Helm: directly in front of captain’s chair. Steers the ship and controls throttle.

• Navigator’s desk: located to the right of the captain’s chair. Navigator plots course and calls out directions to the Helm

• Communications. Directly behind Chair. Radio operator sends and receives communications.

• Fighter Command (Military only) located to the left of the chair. coordinates fighters by relaying information from the look-outs

 

Engine Room: where the diesel engines, that power the ship, are located. It is also possibly, but difficult to steer the ship from here

 

First aid station: where the medical supplies are located and the doctor works. In some larger ships, mainly military, this can be more like a small hospital.

 

Captain’s Quarters: where the captain spends his time when he is not on deck

 

Crew Quarter’s: where the crew spends there down time and where they sleep

 

Passenger quarters: this is where passengers stay on a passenger liner. On a cargo ship this would be the cargo hold.

 

Fore/Aft/Starboard/Port lookout: these lookouts keep an eye out for pirates and obstacles. All are armed with machineguns, just in case

 

Crow’s nest: same as lookouts

 

Armory: where personal fire arms are kept. Most ships care a few rifles in pistols. However mercenaries and military ships may care quite a bit more and usually have heavier arms

 

Hanger: where the ships fighters or support craft dock to refuel

 

Turrets: some ships have more turrets on then for extra protection.

 

let me know what you guys think and feel free to make comments, suggestions, and to critique it all you want.

 

-Night

[Mad_Ernie]

Re: My new campaign

 

i'm starting a new pulp hero game. i just wanted you guys to take a look at my setting and history and tell me what you think and critique it

 

let me know what you guys think and feel free to make comments, suggestions, and to critique it all you want.

 

-Night

 

Well, my thoughts are you have certainly put some work into the whole zeppelin thing, and that all sounds interesting. But what are you going to do with it? What is the story? What is the premise? Are we talking "War of the Airships" here?

 

-ME

[The Monster]

Re: My new campaign

 

Many thoughts - I've been running an airship-based campaign for years (at 1-3 session per year), so this is familiar territory.

 

The timeline looks good enough as it is. Note that there were a couple Europeans working on inventing the airplane as well, so they wouldn't be totally absent, just delayed a few years. Not that this would likely affect your campaign, but just a point of information. Though it would an ironic twist if the Wrights dies in a plane crash at Kitty Hawk!

 

One note of interest: the ONLY source of helium until at least WW2 was the United States - techniques to produce it didn't exist then. This made for interesting issues (and why the US funded a "Strategic Helium Reserve" until the last few years of the 20th century): among other things, the Hindenberg would have been a helium ship if it weren't for US dislike of the Nazi regime (speaking of which, given that Germany won the war, it's unlikely the Nazis rise to power - Prussian militarism would still be going strong, though, so German villains are still plenty). Hydrogen does lift better than helium, so it would still have been used for early models, but its flammability is an obvious problem. If the US had been freer with its helium (interested more in profits than in security - as if that ever happens ), *or* if methods for producing helium had been invented earlier (German scientists would be likely enough to do this; they were world masters of chemistry), the WW1 zeppelins would have been a lot more dangerous - less lift, but they don't blow up!

 

An issue with the "engine room" concept: zeppelin engines were mostly external, so the "engine rooms" are actually pods on struts outside the skin. Some later ships - Akron, for example - had internal engines with belts/chains out to the propellers: better safety for the techs and better streamlining. So there wouldn't really be an "engine room," though you might have a workshop where the chief engineer does his tinkering and organization.

 

Weapons: not so much turrets, but WW1 ships did have machinegun nests in various places. This is about all that's reasonable, unless you want to rubberize your science a bit - I did; my airship (the Archangel) carries an MG in the nose, one in the tail, and two along the top spine. They also carry some bombs and even a small cannon (useful only for engaging ground targets). Turrets would be too heavy - as it is, I push the science by making them .50-cals rather than the more realistic .30s.

 

By the way, I based Archangel on the Akron and Macon, sister ships of US manufacture and the two most advanced military airships ever actually built. There's a fair amount of info on them if you go digging for it. I'll see if I can come up with some links, or you can just Google it and go from there. Also check out the Lakehurst, NJ air station, the primary airship port in the US (and where the Hindenburg crashed). The one in California is Moffett Field (then named something else, but they have a display/museum there, IIRC).

 

Just as an additional tidbit: The opening scenes of "Sky Captain," where the airship disembarked passengers onto the mast of the Empire State Building, is based on reality - the top of that building was actually designed for use as an airship terminal! It never was used because the winds around tall buildings are too messy, but it was heartwarming to see it in action.

[nightbringer256]

Re: My new campaign

 

thanks for yours guys input. the campaign is going to be some what akkin to the xbox game crimson skies (fun game)

 

the group (about 5-6 people) will be a group of mercenaries the british have hired to, in the begining at least, stop the raids on one of there shipping lanes with america.

 

and as far as science goes it will be very rubber

[Moidalyza]

Re: My new campaign

 

Looks like a lot of fun!

[st barbara]

Re: My new campaign

 

How did the Germans invade Britain ? Did they decisively win Jutland or Dogger Bank or something ? Or did the Zepplins destroy the Royal Navy from above ? Apart from this being a tad unlikely I don't mind your premise. I also think that the background to "Crimson Skies" would make a fun place for a pulp RPG as it stands. A balkanized North America with most communications being by air opens up lots of possibilities for dashing aviator or spy types !

[Basil]

Re: My new campaign

 

{snip}

• 1914 the first world war is started

 

• 1916 United States declares neutrality and supplies both sides of the war

 

• 1928 WW1 ends in a draw when Britain signs the treaty of Paris. As part of the treaty Germany gave Britain back the lower half of England in return for the western part of France. Leaving Germany a rather large holding of land

(i attached a map)

There is utterly no way the war could have continued until 1928. The major participants had already been bled white by 1917 (the year in the real world that the US joined in). The idea of the war going on another eleven years is preposterous; nobody had the materiel nor men to continue that long. Much better to have the war end in 1918, 1919, or maybe 1920.

 

BTW, you really ought to get a (pre)WWI map to base yours off of, not a ~2005 one. The shapes of Germany and Poland are all wrong, you're missing the Austrio-Hungarian Empire (which is an ally, not a piece, or Germany), there's stuff wrong with the Balkens, etc. I'm sure you can find something usable on the Net.

 

Oh, and your airship stuff is fairly good, though as already pointed out there's no "engine room" in one.

[nightbringer256]

Re: My new campaign

 

thank you guys for the advice, i am not too worried about it being realistic. i ran my first session and everyone had a blast. the game ran well, the players had fun, and so did I. and thats all that really matters, when you are running a game, isn't it?

 

well thanks for the help guys!

[st barbara]

Re: My new campaign

 

thank you guys for the advice, i am not too worried about it being realistic. i ran my first session and everyone had a blast. the game ran well, the players had fun, and so did I. and thats all that really matters, when you are running a game, isn't it?

 

well thanks for the help guys!

Agreed ! It's just that the historian in me was having a little bit of trouble with your background.

[nightbringer256]

Re: My new campaign

 

Know that you metion it my inner historian was begining to bug me too.

 

about time i took care of him

DIE!

*scuffle*

*sock*

*pow*

*blam*

*thud*

 

oh god what have i done?!

 

i needed that to live!

 

*thud*

[LordGhee]

Re: My new campaign

 

there was a book that I have read on an alternate world with the hero helping tthe locals (chinese) to defeat the coloinal powers (Uk, US, GER, Jap). the locals have airplanes vs the airships, ends in the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, Warlords of the Air is the name I think.

 

The Airships have dissapearing recoiless guns (retracted to be loaded) which they use to fire at each orther.

 

some German airships could carry 2 tons of bombs.

[st barbara]

Re: My new campaign

 

there was a book that I have read on an alternate world with the hero helping tthe locals (chinese) to defeat the coloinal powers (Uk, US, GER, Jap). the locals have airplanes vs the airships, ends in the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, Warlords of the Air is the name I think.

 

The Airships have dissapearing recoiless guns (retracted to be loaded) which they use to fire at each orther.

 

some German airships could carry 2 tons of bombs.

That sounds like "Warlord Of The Air" by Michael Moorcock. One of my favorites of his books !