AlHazred

A couple of possibilities exist: 1) Just buy every alien with English and have them call it something else. 2) Handwaving. Lots and lots of handwaving. 3) In Star Hero, there is a discussion of Universal Translator effects (can't remember the page number off hand). One of the variations is obviously based on the Star Trek Universal Translator. IIRC, it's the Universal Translator power with a -0 limitation to reflect the fact that it doesn't always work perfectly (see the episode "Darmok"). Real Cost: 20 points. If that seems expensive to you, well, in a Star Trek Hero game it would probably be an Everyman ability. Personally, I think that for a two-way translation, you also need to attack Transmit, but I believe that's been specifically disallowed in official products...

I'd think the fact that there are men in power who wouldn't let a woman do certain things in certain circumstances, and that these men might be able to make the determination for the PC group, would probably be worth 5 points.

Just curious, but would being female be worth a 5 point Social Limitation? Or was the Empire really that cosmopolitan?

Reminds me of a Champions campaign a friend ran at college where everybody played him/herself with superpowers. The main villains were these hyper-intelligent squirrels (squirrels were endemic in Hoboken) who had Mind Control powers and were taking over the city. Don't remember much else except that when people realized the President of the college was Mind Controlled, it was a really good excuse to beat on him...

I'd no wish to hijack the original thread with a response, but since it's been quiet for a while, I'll post. I love Traveller. It was one of the first games I played, and I still get the nostalgia of Traveller from looking at new products, such as the new T20 (Traveller D20) that recently came out. But it had a few things about it I didn't like. 1) The aliens weren't alien enough. Yeah, I know it makes them harder for players to connect with, but that's kind of the point... 2) Limited technology track. All cultures developed technology along the same lines of investigation. As an engineer, I know that not all technologies are required for advances in any particular field. I would expect something a little different from any nonhuman race, since they don't think like us. 3) You can't go anywhere somebody else hasn't been first. Granted, there're uninhabited planets in most systems, but every system has at least a relay station, indicating someone's been there. That's fine for the middle of the Empire; I'd even expect it there. But there's one adventure which takes you beyond the borders of "explored space" for a year of travel and exploration. You check out tons of systems. And you find (if I remember correctly) exactly one unexplored, uninhabited system. Everywhere else, someone's already been. That kind of takes the fun out of exploring... Those are the main points I didn't like. For a good Terran Empire feel, check out the science fiction novels of Jack Vance, particularly the Demon Princes series (now available combined in a two-volume set) and the Cadwal Chronicles series (Araminta Station, Ecce and Old Earth, and Throy).

The Mark XXII Bolo had the ability to sense orbital presences due to interfacing with telescopes, satellites and an extremely well-made deductive facility. The first few planets would be annihilated, sure. But the Bolos who got scragged would send messages via any FTL method they could manage, and the remaining Bolos on the front would take notice. By about the Bolo Mark XXX, the contest becomes a little more doable.

It strikes me as an interesting topic. Machines are tools, and as such, they distill the essence of their task. Swords evoke in people a sense of finality; hammers or drills of utility; a sleek sportscar of speed. In this sense, the Bolos evoke courage and honor, the two defining facets of human warfare that they adopted. They never have it easy; in the absence of challenge, true courage cannot grow, and honor requires "polish" to shine. Berserkers are alien killing machines, not war machines. Their purpose is to end life in any means possible. They evoke horror and fear. Their attacks are always as overpowering as possible, since it is in the face of implacability that fear grows. The few times when their attacks are not overwhelmingly powerful, they instead attempt to infiltrate human society to corrupt it from within. Courage versus fear. Honor versus horror. Struggling war machines versus overwhelming killing machines. It'd be quite a show... to see from the sidelines. The more I think about it, the more I think it would be best to have a small outpost world with a few bored Bolos (the PCs) who note the approach of a new enemy - the Berserkers.

Speaking of David Gerrold, his War Against the Chtorr series would probably be good reading for preparation for Alien Wars. Try to get the first run of books. He produced three, then had writer's block. A few years afterward, he came out with book four, and took the opportunity to go back and rewrite the first three. In my opinion, his first run was a better, tighter, series; in his revised books, he has too many sidetracks into alternative lifestyles and bizzare sexualities. He's better with action, and less good with preachy philosophical asides.

According to Laumer's "A Short History of the Bolo Fighting Machines," at some point the great war machines become spaceworthy. I remember one story, with Bolo Mark XVI "Das Afrika Corps," where a number of Bolos were apparently set up as satellites to monitor a planet; from internal evidence of the story, it's evident they have some method of Flight available to them. In any case, there never seemed to be a shortage of Bolos on the alien worlds of the stories. Perhaps they have some specialized Bolo Transport Spacecraft? Now, the Berserkers, they had smaller robots they could deploy to planet surfaces, right? Were they more like the Terminator or more like Mechanon?

It was your response in the Military Sci-Fi thread, Lord Liaden, that got me to start a new one; I'd no wish to hijack Steve's reading list. I'd long ago come up with a short campaign in the Ogre setting involving PCs who were members of the military. Their units all demolished, the PCs must band together to survive their last remaining foe: the Ogre responsible for the destruction, badly wounded, but still a behemoth of destructive fury. This campaign idea got me rereading the Bolo series, and then I found the "new" series: Honor of the Regiment, The Unconquerable, The Triumphant, and Last Stand. Some great stories in there. In several, the Bolos are instrumental in defeating various spacefaring foes of mankind. They always find the weakness(es) of their foes, and exploit them with robotic efficiency. That got me wondering, what would happen in the confrontation between the Bolos and the Berserkers. The Berserkers have few weaknesses, and none that are easily exploitable by the large, massive Bolos. Looking over the "Cybertank" in TUV, I think we have a good candidate for Bolos. Some modifications are necessary, but I think it's fairly easy to do. Now, what about the Berserkers? Any ideas?

I believe TUV has the Apache helicopter, and it might even have the Hornets; if not, they have something similar to the Hornet that can be adapted. TUV definitely has the Abrams tank. It definitely does not have the MLRS. [Edit - TUV has the Apache helicopter (usable with minor changes), and the FA-18 Hornet, and the M1 Abrams tank. I'd be interested to see your take on the MLRS.]

Some time ago (say, 1996), I had the idea that a great Sci-Fi campaign could be made by combining the works of Fred Saberhagen (specifically, the Berserkers series) and the Bolo series by Keith Laumer. For those who don't know, the Berserkers series was Saberhagen's answer to Drake's Equation. Drake turned the question of other intelligent life in the universe into a statistical equation, and solved for different results based on the best scientific estimates he could produce for the different variables. Saberhagen's series answers that question by positing a race of aliens who constructed humongous robotic starships which were programmed to search the galaxy for life - and then destroy it. In the series, a variety of human agents combat the machinations of these killer robotic starships in a variety of ways, usually depending on wits rather than firepower. In the years since Mr. Laumer wrote the original stories that comprised the first book (called Bolos: Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade), a series of anthologies have come out, with a number of authors contributing to the setting. In the Bolos setting, humans create robotic supertanks to fight their wars for them. The tanks get more and more sophisticated until they achieve sentience. The one constant to these tanks is their hard-wired code of honor, which causes them to (time and time again) sacrifice their existence to protect the humans in their charge. I thought a game with both of these elements would be quite an interesting setting. There are a variety of options, but one interesting one is a campaign where the players are a military unit trying to survive the titanic conflict raging about them. Another option would be to allow the players to actually play a unit of Bolos. What does the list think? Good potential or waste of time?

Lord Liaden beat me to the Bolo series by Keith Laumer, the main inspiration for Steve Jackson Games' Ogre game. A number of anthologies were produced of his stories. A few years ago, a publisher began producing a new series of anthologies with permission. The first two are okay, but after that I'd leave it for later. They're not bad, per se, just mediocre. Actually, I've always thought a Bolos-versus-Berserkers setting could be pretty interesting... I'm going to suggest Brian Daley's The Doomfarers of Coramonde (1977) and The Starfollowers of Coramonde(1979). It's the story of a modern (for the 1970s) mercenary company transported by magic from the jungles of Viet Nam to a fantasy world. They're efforts to come to grips with the circumstances, and they're gradual attempts to improve the technology of their patrons, is an interesting take on low-tech military science fiction/fantasy. The same idea was used by Jerry Pournelle in his Janissaries series, except there the mercenaries are transported by aliens from the jungles of Africa. One series to avoid is Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant. It was billed to me by the clerk as military sci-fi. It's only resemblance to military sci-fi (or, indeed, good writing in general) is the fact that it uses English, and is located in a book store.

Ah, man, reminds me of at least three attempts I made to be that comprehensive in a Fantasy campaign. In one I started with the map (detailed down to peasant hovels). In another, I started with the regional map, screwed down to the major cities (albeit not as detailed as the first attempt), and then moved on to cultures/kingdom details. In the third attempt I started with extremely detailed kingdom writeups (down to the officials), then did the regional map, and then screwed downwards. In each case, my players quit four to twelve weeks after I began work. Then, when I decided not to do any work on the campaign at all and run by the seat of my pants, the campaign lasted for three years... More power to you.

How did the conversion work for you? Did the points add up?

My poor credit card thanks you for your mini-review. Now to go back to my attempt to combine Castle Falkenstein with GURPS Goblins...

Right, forgot about the Extra Time. For playability purposes, I'd make it 1 Turn; Sharpe's Rifles has a scene where the men are taught to fire five rounds a minute, IIRC. I don't remember if they were using percussion cap or flintlock muskets, but that translates to about 1 Turn between firings, with some sort of Fast Draw (Early Firearms) skill allowing them the extra shot per minute. These guns were definitely used as clubs, or even spears, in their time. A pistol-dagger was produced that could fire one shot up the blade, launching the point of the dagger just ahead of the round; a good surprise weapon, but not one I'd expect to use successfully too often. However, the firing mechanism of the gun was definitely fragile, and prone to all sorts of little problems; it was improvements in the firing mechanism that were the most dramatic advances made. So, RKA 2d6, 20 Boostable Charges (to represent overcharging any particular shot; +1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4), Reduced By Range (-1/4), STR Min (11 to 14, Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1), Beam (-1/4), Activation Roll (Jammed, 15-; -3/4), Extra Time (1 Turn; -1 1/4) plus -2 RMod; OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) plus -1 OCV; OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4). Total cost: 3 points.

It's true most targets died of secondary causes, as opposed to outright damage from the wound. On the other hand, they had a decent velocity leaving the barrel; the problem is that the round shot loses velocity much more quickly than today's aerodynamic rounds. Plus, you had to guess how much powder to put in there, the firing mechanism was prone to jams, etc. Some arquibusiers attempted to "overcharge" the firing chamber with powder for greater range or more damaging shots; this tended to increase the unreliability of the weapon. I would put the weapon at RKA 2d6, 20 Boostable Charges (to represent overcharging any particular shot; +1/2) (45 Active Points); OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4), Reduced By Range (-1/4), STR Min (11 to 14, Cannot Add/Subtract Damage; -1), Beam (-1/4), Activation Roll (Jammed, 15-; -3/4) plus -2 RMod; OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4) plus -1 OCV; OAF Fragile (-1 1/4), Required Hands (2 Hands; -1/2), Real Weapon (-1/4). Total cost: 5 points. Pretty much your best bet is to fire at the people charging your position (and thus, closer to you at a poorer DCV); this was pretty much the standard tactic anyway. Later guns, or guns of quality would eliminate the OCV penalty and maybe put a +1 on there, depending. Eliminating the RMod penalty requires rifling the barrel. Eliminating the Reduced By Range limitation requires at least Minie Ball rounds. Depending upon your campaign, you may want to define the infection that sets in as well. It would probably be a poison RKA with an Activation Roll and Gradual Effect, although other forms are possible.

Well, they do in fact have a drawing of the weapon I think your talking about in The Art of the Fellowship of the Ring. They also have a photo in The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion of an elven army with these weapons. I've scanned them in, but they're huge. I'll email them to you, if you want. I have a high-speed connection; it'll handle it.

Multiform is not really necessary if he doesn't radically change forms. It could just be a special effect for an Aid that covers a list of abilities simultaneously; the Aid is attached to an Absorption vs. All Magical Effects. But I'm sure that you figured it out. Be interested to see the final result.

I believe there's a picture of this in the Lord of the Rings Visual Companion. I'll have to check when I get home...

C'mon, Steve! You have to sell product! [salesman] "See here, my good man. Really, everything is necessary to run a good Hero campaign! In fact, I recommend you buy two, so that you can leave one in the shrink-wrap as a collectible!" [/salesman] Seriously, though, Hero is one of the few games where I can truthfully say I use everything I buy. I have yet to buy a Hero supplement that didn't give me a ready-made NPC or Vehicle, series of plot seeds, interesting Advantage/Limitation set, or whatever. They really are all useful for almost every campaign I run/play...

The Flinx stuff is pretty good IMO. It's not earth-shaking literature that will Change The Way You Look At Things, but I liked it; it felt like a good compromise between the loopier 70's drug-influenced Sci-Fi, and the squeaky-clean Sci-Fi of Asimov and Clarke. Later on, I discovered Vance's Sci-Fi, and that also fits that mold, but at the time, the field was pretty sparse. Things didn't really get shaken up until Gibson's Neuromancer. Now, a lot of the older stuff looks a little "quaint". The Humanx Commonwealth series is still an excellent take on Sci-Fi Psionics. And I love the Manti too, although they are far to human-like for my current tastes in aliens...

I've haunted Elfwood many times to pick up all kinds of art. They divide it into Fantasy and Sci-Fi. The only downside is the ridiculous number of anime-based drawings on it. If I were running Anime, of course, I wouldn't mind, but still, it's excessive... One thing I like is finding artists who post a few samples to whet peoples appetites. I've been led to a large number of excellent on-line galleries by following the links... Incidentally, nice render there, Markdoc. I love the Gloranthan runes on his breastplate; great flavor there...

Good reasons, Steve. I'd wondered when you'd hit the end of your time-window for reading your "must-read" list; it put my current rate of reading to shame! If you've got the chance to read him (say, in 2005 or 2006 sometime), you should check out his Spellsinger series (a comedic crossworlds high fantasy setting) and his Flinx series (a decent sci-fi setting with some nice psionics). To be fair, neither is what I'd call "great literature", but they're still good reading; I whiled away many a day rereading both in my youth...