Yeah. Forget it.
I have too much going on to work on this, and not nearly enough enthusiasm.
It's a shame. I really thought the initial idea was pretty sweet.
Oh well. Maybe some other time.
On to other things.
AD
Barking Alien
Showing posts with label A to Z Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A to Z Challenge. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Saturday, April 9, 2016
ALIEN VACATION...REIMAGINED
My ALIEN VACATION theme for this month's A-to-Z Blog Challenge? Well...
I'm reimagining it.
The truth is, I reimagined it starting from the very first post.
What I actually want to do is go back to my original idea. For some reason that I can't explain, for the first post of this series I wrote something that was not really what I wanted, or intended to write.
Unfortunately, once I wrote it, and posted it, it soured my enthusiasm for continuing. I knew what I wrote was not what I'd originally envisioned, and [honestly] I kind of hated it. As a result as I put off the project. I lost my focus, and my excitement over the whole thing. I'm sensitive that way.
To fix this situation I am declaring a do-over.
The old 'first entry' has been deleted.
What follows is the new first entry, and my proper attempt at completing the A-to-Z Blog Challenge for 2016.
Thank you for your time, and sorry for any confusion.
AD
Barking Alien
I'm reimagining it.
The truth is, I reimagined it starting from the very first post.
What I actually want to do is go back to my original idea. For some reason that I can't explain, for the first post of this series I wrote something that was not really what I wanted, or intended to write.
Unfortunately, once I wrote it, and posted it, it soured my enthusiasm for continuing. I knew what I wrote was not what I'd originally envisioned, and [honestly] I kind of hated it. As a result as I put off the project. I lost my focus, and my excitement over the whole thing. I'm sensitive that way.
To fix this situation I am declaring a do-over.
The old 'first entry' has been deleted.
What follows is the new first entry, and my proper attempt at completing the A-to-Z Blog Challenge for 2016.
Thank you for your time, and sorry for any confusion.
AD
Barking Alien
Friday, April 1, 2016
The A-to-Z Blog Challenge: GALACTIC LAMPOON'S ALIEN VACATION!
It's April again, and you know what that means don't you? It's time for me to fail the A-to-Z Blog Challenge.
Yep, this time every year for the past few years I attempt to join the long, and varied list of bloggers who partake in the A-to-Z Challenge, only to find I am unable to complete it. Repeatedly. You'd think that after a while I would give up, not bother, and save myself the hassle.
You'd think.
Well, the fact of the matter is...
The fact of the matter is we're out of here!
Barkley? Where've you been lately? I was just making a post introducing this year's A-to-Z Challenge.
Yes, I heard as much. Sounds like a hoot. Luckily, it's not a concern. You my dear friend, and I, are going on vacation!
Vacation?
Vacation! I took the liberty of packing your bag for you, I have the blog on standby, the Emergency Holo-chronal Adam has been activated, my cousin has promised to come by three times a week to feed the unnamed horror living on Level 25M, and we are good to go!
What?...I can't. I have to...
Non-sense! One month, that's thirty days or so, traveling the galaxy aboard a Happy Hunting Tours star cruiser. I've rented us a personal exploratory saucer which can launch from the mothership, fly around for a closer look, or even land on any of the various planets the tour will visit.
We...we're going to other planets?
Yessiree! It's going to an incredible adventure! Just you,and me old chum (and the hundred or so other passengers on the star cruiser)! We're going to go to different worlds, see the creatures there, sentient life if there is any, and maybe check out some ancient ruins from bygone civilizations. That's more for you. I know you love that stuff.
Plus, the Happy Hunting Tours vessel has over a dozen restaurants from around the cosmos, at least five cantinas, three nightclubs, a zero-gee handball court, three swimming pools (although only one has Human safety compatible conditions), and much, much more. You are going to see, and do so many amazing things...
That I'll have tons of material for the A-to-Z Challenge! Barkley, you're a genius!
Well, I don't know about being a genius. Smart yes, and dashing for sure. I...wait a second. No, no, no! This isn't about...
This is perfect! It shows here on this computer pad that I can alphabetize the trip's itinerary. That means an A-to-Z listing of all the aliens, sites, food, EVERYTHING!
Yep, this time every year for the past few years I attempt to join the long, and varied list of bloggers who partake in the A-to-Z Challenge, only to find I am unable to complete it. Repeatedly. You'd think that after a while I would give up, not bother, and save myself the hassle.
You'd think.
Well, the fact of the matter is...
The fact of the matter is we're out of here!
Barkley? Where've you been lately? I was just making a post introducing this year's A-to-Z Challenge.
Yes, I heard as much. Sounds like a hoot. Luckily, it's not a concern. You my dear friend, and I, are going on vacation!
Vacation?
Vacation! I took the liberty of packing your bag for you, I have the blog on standby, the Emergency Holo-chronal Adam has been activated, my cousin has promised to come by three times a week to feed the unnamed horror living on Level 25M, and we are good to go!
What?...I can't. I have to...
Non-sense! One month, that's thirty days or so, traveling the galaxy aboard a Happy Hunting Tours star cruiser. I've rented us a personal exploratory saucer which can launch from the mothership, fly around for a closer look, or even land on any of the various planets the tour will visit.
We...we're going to other planets?
Yessiree! It's going to an incredible adventure! Just you,and me old chum (and the hundred or so other passengers on the star cruiser)! We're going to go to different worlds, see the creatures there, sentient life if there is any, and maybe check out some ancient ruins from bygone civilizations. That's more for you. I know you love that stuff.
Plus, the Happy Hunting Tours vessel has over a dozen restaurants from around the cosmos, at least five cantinas, three nightclubs, a zero-gee handball court, three swimming pools (although only one has Human safety compatible conditions), and much, much more. You are going to see, and do so many amazing things...
That I'll have tons of material for the A-to-Z Challenge! Barkley, you're a genius!
Well, I don't know about being a genius. Smart yes, and dashing for sure. I...wait a second. No, no, no! This isn't about...
This is perfect! It shows here on this computer pad that I can alphabetize the trip's itinerary. That means an A-to-Z listing of all the aliens, sites, food, EVERYTHING!
"Not what I had in mind..."
Oh boy...
Barkley my friend, I don't know how to thank you.
Neither do I.
I can't wait to get started!
A-to-Z Blog Challenge across the Milky Way, here we come!
*sob*
AD
Barking Alien
Wait...Happy Hunting Tours? Hmmm...
Barkley my friend, I don't know how to thank you.
Neither do I.
I can't wait to get started!
A-to-Z Blog Challenge across the Milky Way, here we come!
*sob*
AD
Barking Alien
Wait...Happy Hunting Tours? Hmmm...
Oh, by the way...
This is the 1000TH POST ON BARKING ALIEN!!! WOOHOO!
Sunday, April 12, 2015
C is for Cancelled, I Need a Rest
It is the evening of Sunday, April 12, 2015, and I am just sitting down to dinner after my 36th day in a row working without taking a day off.
I am not going to complete the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge this year. More than likely, I will not be posting very much for the rest of the month.
For those interested, I have cleared the obstacle that required me to work so much in the first place. I succeeded. I am victorious. Victory is tiring. I am exhausted.
In addition, I haven't been gaming very much as a result of my work schedule. I have managed to keep up with the Google Hangouts Supers game I play in, and ran a one-shot of Star Wars D6 for that very same group. While they had fun, it didn't feel right to me. It was a pale shadow of my former exploits running the game.
I was actually told by a friend (who is no longer with us) many years ago, "Star Trek may be your favorite, but you run Star Wars best".
I did not run it best last week.
I could easily explain away my poor performance by blaming how worn out I feel, how long its been since I've run WEG Star Wars, the fact that it was over the internet instead of face-to-face...but those are excuses, and I don't want excuses. I want answers. I want to know why I didn't run a blow-the-lid-off-it, badass session of my favorite system, and one of my top favorite settings.
There is something off. Something is not right, misaligned, not loading properly.
I've lost my mojo.
While I search for it, and perhaps until I get it back, things will be quiet here at Barking Alien.
Don't wait up, but don't worry either.
I'll be back soon.
AD
Barking Alien
I am not going to complete the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge this year. More than likely, I will not be posting very much for the rest of the month.
For those interested, I have cleared the obstacle that required me to work so much in the first place. I succeeded. I am victorious. Victory is tiring. I am exhausted.
In addition, I haven't been gaming very much as a result of my work schedule. I have managed to keep up with the Google Hangouts Supers game I play in, and ran a one-shot of Star Wars D6 for that very same group. While they had fun, it didn't feel right to me. It was a pale shadow of my former exploits running the game.
I was actually told by a friend (who is no longer with us) many years ago, "Star Trek may be your favorite, but you run Star Wars best".
I did not run it best last week.
I could easily explain away my poor performance by blaming how worn out I feel, how long its been since I've run WEG Star Wars, the fact that it was over the internet instead of face-to-face...but those are excuses, and I don't want excuses. I want answers. I want to know why I didn't run a blow-the-lid-off-it, badass session of my favorite system, and one of my top favorite settings.
There is something off. Something is not right, misaligned, not loading properly.
I've lost my mojo.
While I search for it, and perhaps until I get it back, things will be quiet here at Barking Alien.
Don't wait up, but don't worry either.
I'll be back soon.
AD
Barking Alien
Thursday, April 9, 2015
B is for Boot Hil, Should The Young Men Go West?
Prior to this post, I have only tagged Boot Hill, the 1975 Wild West Role Playing Game created by Brian Blume, and Gary Gygax, and published by TSR, only once before on this blog.
I may have mentioned it briefly a few other times.
That's just wrong.
Hmmm. Wrong might be too strong a word. I'll explain...
Before I get into this in depth, I want to note that this is both a Thorough Thursdays entry, and the second installment in the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. As you can tell, I'm batting a thousand. I am a week late for both entries, which should have been posted Thursday, April 2nd.
Oh well, life goes on.
On a positive note, the albatross around my neck has finally been removed. I can afford to see a movie once in a while, take a day off, that sort of thing. Not too often of course, but compared to the past several months, it's going to feel like a vacation.
Now, in addition to having only one post tagged with Boot Hill, only three have ever been tagged with the words 'Wild West'. You'll also notice that there is only one previous entry for Deadlands (even though I may have mentioned it more than once in passing).
Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of Westerns. It's not that I really dislike them per se, I just don't list them among my top five favorite genres. I guess I would put them above D&D, Sword & Sorcery, smorgasbord Fantasy, but below Medieval Folklore Fantasy.
It just ain't my thing, the way my things are my thing.
Still and all, there was that one time I ran a Boot Hill campaign and it was awesome. So awesome in fact that I never even tried to do it again.
Boot Hill was perhaps the second or third RPG I ever played. It is also possibly the second or third game I ever laid eyes on. This was back in the day when you could count the number of RPGs in print on your fingers.
Unlike Dungeons & Dragons I had an immediate frame of reference for Boot Hill, having already seen many a Western film and TV program by the age of 10. My maternal grandfather (who we called Pop or Poppy) and my Dad were huge fans of the genre. I ended up absorbing the tropes and atmosphere by osmosis. Thanks to my Pop's love of cinema and my father's fascination for old things, I learned to love the generation of John Wayne pictures as much as those of Clint Eastwood.
Add to the mix Wild West tales in the form I understood best, comic books. From DC's Jonah Hex, Batlash, and Pow-Wow Smith to Marvel's Kid Colt and the Rawhide Kid, Western comics were a staple part of my early collection. Actually, they were a staple of my cousin's collection, but I tended to read his comic books far more than he did.
All this exposure pooled together and helped me create one rootin' tootin', sure an' shootin' Wild West 'Boot Hill' campaign back in 1979.
Thirty-six years is a long time to wait for a sequel.
In my mind that means one of two things. Either, if I haven't made one yet that I don't need to make one. Some epics just don't need a '2'. That, or it's about time. Maybe even long overdue.
What do you think? Worth assembling a posse for, or should I just let the stage coach be on its way?
B is for Boot Hill
AD
Barking Alien
I may have mentioned it briefly a few other times.
That's just wrong.
Hmmm. Wrong might be too strong a word. I'll explain...
Hold it right there partner.
I plum reckon there maybe some clarifications in order.
Oh well, life goes on.
On a positive note, the albatross around my neck has finally been removed. I can afford to see a movie once in a while, take a day off, that sort of thing. Not too often of course, but compared to the past several months, it's going to feel like a vacation.
***
Now, in addition to having only one post tagged with Boot Hill, only three have ever been tagged with the words 'Wild West'. You'll also notice that there is only one previous entry for Deadlands (even though I may have mentioned it more than once in passing).
Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of Westerns. It's not that I really dislike them per se, I just don't list them among my top five favorite genres. I guess I would put them above D&D, Sword & Sorcery, smorgasbord Fantasy, but below Medieval Folklore Fantasy.
It just ain't my thing, the way my things are my thing.
Still and all, there was that one time I ran a Boot Hill campaign and it was awesome. So awesome in fact that I never even tried to do it again.
Boot Hill was perhaps the second or third RPG I ever played. It is also possibly the second or third game I ever laid eyes on. This was back in the day when you could count the number of RPGs in print on your fingers.
Unlike Dungeons & Dragons I had an immediate frame of reference for Boot Hill, having already seen many a Western film and TV program by the age of 10. My maternal grandfather (who we called Pop or Poppy) and my Dad were huge fans of the genre. I ended up absorbing the tropes and atmosphere by osmosis. Thanks to my Pop's love of cinema and my father's fascination for old things, I learned to love the generation of John Wayne pictures as much as those of Clint Eastwood.
Add to the mix Wild West tales in the form I understood best, comic books. From DC's Jonah Hex, Batlash, and Pow-Wow Smith to Marvel's Kid Colt and the Rawhide Kid, Western comics were a staple part of my early collection. Actually, they were a staple of my cousin's collection, but I tended to read his comic books far more than he did.
All this exposure pooled together and helped me create one rootin' tootin', sure an' shootin' Wild West 'Boot Hill' campaign back in 1979.
Thirty-six years is a long time to wait for a sequel.
In my mind that means one of two things. Either, if I haven't made one yet that I don't need to make one. Some epics just don't need a '2'. That, or it's about time. Maybe even long overdue.
Sketch by Alan Robinson
As I toy around in my head with ideas for a new secondary campaign for my primary, New York group, the idea of a successor to my original Boot Hill campaign has crossed my thoughts more than a few times.
What do you think? Worth assembling a posse for, or should I just let the stage coach be on its way?
B is for Boot Hill
AD
Barking Alien
Thursday, April 2, 2015
A is for Active, The State I Like Best
I don't do nothing well.
A better way to say it might be...I'm not very good at doing nothing.
When running a Role Playing Game, I like something to be happening, always.
It really doesn't matter if it's a fight, a chase, an investigation, an argument with an NPC, or a heated discussion between PCs on the next course of action. I just want Something. Going. On.
Is it because I'm impatient? I get bored easily? No. It's none of that nonsense.
It boils down to the fact that the people, the characters we portray in the games we play, the stories we create, are people living on a razor's edge. They aren't just accountants, farmers, or even soldiers, even when they are. They are people gambling their lives on terrible stakes, against possibly insurmountable odds, in search of fame, fortune, glory, or justice.
Sometimes maybe a little of each.
These aren't people who want safe, easy lives. If they were really those types of individuals, they would never have become adventurers. Heck, if you observe some people play, you wonder why their PC bothers to drag itself out of bed every morning. Why leave your house if you're not going to do anything when you go outside?
The point is, my point is, don't overthink to the level that you do not do. Don't contemplate, analyze, and plan, but never execute said plan. If you should execute said plan, and it becomes more complicated, or it flat out fails, don't give in, give up, or sit it out after that.
Do. Be active. Be proactive, or even reactive. Keep moving. Move the scene forward, the story forward, the game forward.
Like life, gaming is not a spectator sport. Get involved, stay involved, see it through.
Gamemasters, always have something going on. Maybe it's obvious, maybe it's in the background, but something needs to be happening. Even in the quiet break moments when the PCs are resting, and recovering, the world, the universe you're playing in moves on.
A is for Active.
AD
Barking Alien
A better way to say it might be...I'm not very good at doing nothing.
When running a Role Playing Game, I like something to be happening, always.
It really doesn't matter if it's a fight, a chase, an investigation, an argument with an NPC, or a heated discussion between PCs on the next course of action. I just want Something. Going. On.
Is it because I'm impatient? I get bored easily? No. It's none of that nonsense.
It boils down to the fact that the people, the characters we portray in the games we play, the stories we create, are people living on a razor's edge. They aren't just accountants, farmers, or even soldiers, even when they are. They are people gambling their lives on terrible stakes, against possibly insurmountable odds, in search of fame, fortune, glory, or justice.
Sometimes maybe a little of each.
These aren't people who want safe, easy lives. If they were really those types of individuals, they would never have become adventurers. Heck, if you observe some people play, you wonder why their PC bothers to drag itself out of bed every morning. Why leave your house if you're not going to do anything when you go outside?
The point is, my point is, don't overthink to the level that you do not do. Don't contemplate, analyze, and plan, but never execute said plan. If you should execute said plan, and it becomes more complicated, or it flat out fails, don't give in, give up, or sit it out after that.
Do. Be active. Be proactive, or even reactive. Keep moving. Move the scene forward, the story forward, the game forward.
Like life, gaming is not a spectator sport. Get involved, stay involved, see it through.
Gamemasters, always have something going on. Maybe it's obvious, maybe it's in the background, but something needs to be happening. Even in the quiet break moments when the PCs are resting, and recovering, the world, the universe you're playing in moves on.
A is for Active.
AD
Barking Alien
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
What Kind Of Fool Am I?
With the month of March now over, and my real life schedule making free time a rare, precious commodity, there may be some erratic posting going forward.
Soon enough I will back to my old self, but after 25 days of work in a row as of today, with no day off, I hope you'll forgive me if I don't go out of my way to kill myself here on Barking Alien.
That said...
April is the time of year where I foolishly attempt the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge.
The exact reason I do this somewhat eludes me.
I think the idea is fun; bloggers post every day for the month of April, except Sundays, with each post title, or topic following the next alphabetically. Basically, a post with an 'A' theme on April 1st, to a 'Z' on April 31st.
Unfortunately, I've done four of these already, and I believe I've only completed the challenge once. April has notoriously been a month very rough on my free time the past few years. I am already seeing this year will be no exception.
As a female friend of mine is fond of reminding me every year, "April is the cruelest month".*
So, while it can be an enjoyable exercise, why put myself through the anguish? What anguish you ask?
It's completely self-inflicted I assure you. When I start projects like this, it's very difficult to near impossible for me to give up on it. At the same time, if I reach the point of no return, the point where I know in advance I'm not going to make it, or succeed at it, I beat myself up a bit. I get down, feel like a fool, and it throws me off my game for a couple of days at least. It's just a blog challenge, I know, it's no big deal, but I can't help it.
Knowing this as I do, what can I do to make achieving the challenge goal easier for myself?
My first outing was my only truly successful one, and it had no particular theme. Instead of making all the posts parts of a single subject, or even a group of related subjects (although I had started that way), I went with whatever popped into my head. That's going to be my approach this time as well.
Also, I sometimes wrote up the posts out of alphabetical order, even though I posted them following my proper ABCs. That is another tactic I will follow this go around.
One thing I am going to try to do, is keep with my Thorough Thursdays series during the A-to-Z Challenge. Whichever letter falls on a Thursday will receive as its post subject an under discussed Barking Alien tag.
Wish me luck, enjoy the posts, and good luck to you if you are participating in the challenge as well (and even if you're not!).
AD
Barking Alien
*From The Waste Land, a poem by T.S. Eliot.
Soon enough I will back to my old self, but after 25 days of work in a row as of today, with no day off, I hope you'll forgive me if I don't go out of my way to kill myself here on Barking Alien.
That said...
***
The exact reason I do this somewhat eludes me.
I think the idea is fun; bloggers post every day for the month of April, except Sundays, with each post title, or topic following the next alphabetically. Basically, a post with an 'A' theme on April 1st, to a 'Z' on April 31st.
Unfortunately, I've done four of these already, and I believe I've only completed the challenge once. April has notoriously been a month very rough on my free time the past few years. I am already seeing this year will be no exception.
As a female friend of mine is fond of reminding me every year, "April is the cruelest month".*
So, while it can be an enjoyable exercise, why put myself through the anguish? What anguish you ask?
It's completely self-inflicted I assure you. When I start projects like this, it's very difficult to near impossible for me to give up on it. At the same time, if I reach the point of no return, the point where I know in advance I'm not going to make it, or succeed at it, I beat myself up a bit. I get down, feel like a fool, and it throws me off my game for a couple of days at least. It's just a blog challenge, I know, it's no big deal, but I can't help it.
Knowing this as I do, what can I do to make achieving the challenge goal easier for myself?
My first outing was my only truly successful one, and it had no particular theme. Instead of making all the posts parts of a single subject, or even a group of related subjects (although I had started that way), I went with whatever popped into my head. That's going to be my approach this time as well.
Also, I sometimes wrote up the posts out of alphabetical order, even though I posted them following my proper ABCs. That is another tactic I will follow this go around.
One thing I am going to try to do, is keep with my Thorough Thursdays series during the A-to-Z Challenge. Whichever letter falls on a Thursday will receive as its post subject an under discussed Barking Alien tag.
Wish me luck, enjoy the posts, and good luck to you if you are participating in the challenge as well (and even if you're not!).
AD
Barking Alien
*From The Waste Land, a poem by T.S. Eliot.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Campaigns A-To-Z: Alphabet Soup
Fail. You lose. No stuffed unicorn for you. Thank you for playing.
Yep, failed another A-To-Z Challenge. I sometimes wonder why I start these? April is always a terrible month for me and I rarely have the time to devote to my blog as it is.
Sigh.
Oh well, maybe next year (See? What the hell is wrong with me?!).
On another, somewhat related note...
I won't be doing a Muppet Madness Month next month like I originally announced. Themed months are not feasible for the time being, especially ones where I'd want to put the maximum effort I could into them. My maximum effort lately just doesn't amount to that much effort it seems.
Back to talking about whatever the heck comes to mind.
See you in May.
AD
Barking Alien
Yep, failed another A-To-Z Challenge. I sometimes wonder why I start these? April is always a terrible month for me and I rarely have the time to devote to my blog as it is.
Sigh.
Oh well, maybe next year (See? What the hell is wrong with me?!).
On another, somewhat related note...
I won't be doing a Muppet Madness Month next month like I originally announced. Themed months are not feasible for the time being, especially ones where I'd want to put the maximum effort I could into them. My maximum effort lately just doesn't amount to that much effort it seems.
Back to talking about whatever the heck comes to mind.
See you in May.
AD
Barking Alien
Friday, April 25, 2014
Campaigns A-To-Z: Ghostbusters: The Home Office
I almost posted a letter out of order. Seriously. This month is kicking my keister.
OK, back on track.
G is for Ghostbusters!
Title: Ghostbusters: The Home Office
UPDATED!
Gamemaster's Commentary: This post is about the first Ghostbusters campaign I/we ran, waaay back in 1986. It was definitely more humorous and less scary/creepy than the later games of Ghostbusters that I ran myself but still pretty scary and creepy.
To check out my notes on one of those games take a look at...Accidentally Awesome.
Some of the elements of this earlier game would be seen in the Ghostbusters animated series (The Real Ghostbusters) and other follow-up features in the franchise (such as Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters International), all long before they actually appeared.
System: Ghostbusters, A Frightfully Cheerful Role Playing Game
Circa: 1986-89. Sessions generally averaged 4-5 hours in length (shorter than our 8+ hour standard for that era). The campaign lasted over three dozens sessions (roughly), though these were scattered across a three year period. The final session was run sometime in 1989.
Player Base: There were only four players including whomever was GMing as we rotated. Everyone took a turn but Joe ran the most. All four players were male and 17-18 years of age.
Characters: Just like in the film, there were initially four Ghostbusters, each a PC, and each with his own style and specialty. In addition, each carried a customized Neutrino Wand/Proton Pack unit.
The four were roughly analogous to the original four characters from the movie, though far from identical.
At some point in the campaign, our friend AJ joined in with a character of his own. While this technically made for five Ghostbusters, the rotating GM style we used meant one of the main four was essentially an NPC each session. So there were five Ghostbusters employed at the GB-HQ but usually only four of them would be on a mission together while the fifth did something else (modified their gear, did additional research, handled the EPA, etc.).
Dr. Alexander Dominic Thorton the 3rd (played by Joe V.):
The most original of the characters and not as easy to identify with one of the original four Ghostbusters, Alexander D. Thorton the 3rd is one part Ray, one part Peter, and two parts John Cleese as a paranormal investigator.
A wealthy British aristocrat originally hailing from England, Thorton lead a life of fancy lunches with good tea and tiny, triangular sandwiches, long Cricket matches, and other endeavors of leisure and little consequence. This was until he inherited a lovely, seaside summer cottage which turned out to be very, very haunted.
Hearing about the American supernatural investigation and elimination company Ghostbusters, Thorton sold off some assets, flew to the United States. and donated quite a bit of capital to the corporation in exchange for having them train equip him to open a franchise in London. After five successful years as the head of 'Ghostbusters UK' (technically Ghostbusters London), Thorton was asked back to the USA by Ray Stantz for the home office (See Synopsis).
Thorton's specialty was good old fashioned ghosts, spectres and phantoms. He was especially well versed in the dynamics of hauntings.
His custom Neutrona Wand was capable of drawing ghosts directly into the device like a vacuum. The ectoplasmic entity was then sent through a tube into a ghost trap mounted on the side of the pack. This was referred to as the 'Quantum Incarcerator'.
David Nelson (played by David C.):
A combination of Ray and Winston. The character was our tank and big gun, which was a very different role from that normally played by this player. He was great at it.
David Nelson was a former US Marine from Queens, New York who had encountered supernatural phenomena both at home and abroad during his tours of duty. After being discharged from the military, Nelson met with the Ghostbusters to find out why he kept having these encounters. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler determined that Nelson's personal bio-electric aura and psychic resonance were such that weirdness was attracted to him like a magnet.
David became a freelance paranormal investigator for a few years before Winston Zeddemore asked if he wanted to join the Ghostbusters at the home office.
David Nelson's specialty involved Zombies, Mummies, and similar corporeal 'Risen Dead'.
He carried a Proton 'Cannon' (nicknamed 'The Neutrona Rod'), a much larger barreled particle stream caster with a much heavier Proton Pack. It was not able to 'lasso' the ghosts and was less accurate in general.
Robert 'Robbie' Stadler (played by William C.):
Our Peter Venkman, all the way.
Hailing from sunny Southern California, Robert Stadler was once a championship surfer, professional beach bum, and all around officially cool dude. During one surfing competition, a storm rolled in and Stadler was pulled out further to sea than he expected. Before long he was attacked by what he thought was a shark, only to discover it was a Were-Shark!
Robert managed to escape the creature but no one would believe him when he described his encounter. Amid a number of shark attacks over the next few days, Stadler contacted the Ghostbusters and asked them what to do about the situation. The very next day, Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman flew out to Cali and teamed with Stadler to root out and defeat the menace.
Stadler stayed in touch with the team and was later recruited for the home office.
Robbie's specialty was were-creatures, sea monsters and cryptids.
His custom Neutrona Wand was about half the size and two thirds the weight of the standard version. This 'Proton Pistol' was attached to a slightly lighter and smaller Proton Pack and had a hip holster charger. The weapon was less powerful but more accurate and controlled than the standard type.
Prof. Gabriel Zimmerman (played by Me):
Very much Egon Spengler and incidentally, my character.
Gabriel Zimmerman was a rather eccentric, socially awkward, scientific genius who worked as an astrophysicist at a university observatory in Illinois. Though fascinated by Egon Spengler's work with particle accelerators and other Ghostbusters technology, Zimmerman didn't believe in the existence of ghosts. Zimmerman assumed the phenomena being encountered by the Ghostbusters was something else (I forget what it was now but I had this whole speech where Zimmerman explains the events of the first Ghostbusters film in much the way the air force debunks UFO sightings).
At some point, Zimmerman was contacted by the Ghostbusters when a spectral astronaut started causing trouble at NASA's Space Center in Houston, TX. While aiding them (thanks to his extensive knowledge of the space mission this particular astronaut was part of), Zimmerman came face to face with the phantom spaceman and changed his opinion (followed by his underwear).
For a time after that, Zimmerman continued to worked as an astrophysicist but for NASA. In his off hours he took courses on metaphysics and parapsychology. After getting a degree in those fields he quit his job and applied to the Ghostbusters. He was quickly hired for the home office.
Zimmerman is the team's resident mad scientist and tech guy. His specialty remains astronomy and astrophysics but also astrology, UFO lore, and extraterrestrials.
Gabriel's personally modified Neutrona Wand generates a spherical 'bubble' of super-charged protons that can trap an ectoplasmic entity or protect him as a force field. The latter is difficult and requires a moment to mess with the devices settings to make it happen.
OK, back on track.
G is for Ghostbusters!
Title: Ghostbusters: The Home Office
Gamemaster's Commentary: This post is about the first Ghostbusters campaign I/we ran, waaay back in 1986. It was definitely more humorous and less scary/creepy than the later games of Ghostbusters that I ran myself but still pretty scary and creepy.
To check out my notes on one of those games take a look at...Accidentally Awesome.
Some of the elements of this earlier game would be seen in the Ghostbusters animated series (The Real Ghostbusters) and other follow-up features in the franchise (such as Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters International), all long before they actually appeared.
System: Ghostbusters, A Frightfully Cheerful Role Playing Game
Circa: 1986-89. Sessions generally averaged 4-5 hours in length (shorter than our 8+ hour standard for that era). The campaign lasted over three dozens sessions (roughly), though these were scattered across a three year period. The final session was run sometime in 1989.
Player Base: There were only four players including whomever was GMing as we rotated. Everyone took a turn but Joe ran the most. All four players were male and 17-18 years of age.
Characters: Just like in the film, there were initially four Ghostbusters, each a PC, and each with his own style and specialty. In addition, each carried a customized Neutrino Wand/Proton Pack unit.
The four were roughly analogous to the original four characters from the movie, though far from identical.
At some point in the campaign, our friend AJ joined in with a character of his own. While this technically made for five Ghostbusters, the rotating GM style we used meant one of the main four was essentially an NPC each session. So there were five Ghostbusters employed at the GB-HQ but usually only four of them would be on a mission together while the fifth did something else (modified their gear, did additional research, handled the EPA, etc.).
Dr. Alexander Dominic Thorton the 3rd (played by Joe V.):
The most original of the characters and not as easy to identify with one of the original four Ghostbusters, Alexander D. Thorton the 3rd is one part Ray, one part Peter, and two parts John Cleese as a paranormal investigator.
A wealthy British aristocrat originally hailing from England, Thorton lead a life of fancy lunches with good tea and tiny, triangular sandwiches, long Cricket matches, and other endeavors of leisure and little consequence. This was until he inherited a lovely, seaside summer cottage which turned out to be very, very haunted.
Hearing about the American supernatural investigation and elimination company Ghostbusters, Thorton sold off some assets, flew to the United States. and donated quite a bit of capital to the corporation in exchange for having them train equip him to open a franchise in London. After five successful years as the head of 'Ghostbusters UK' (technically Ghostbusters London), Thorton was asked back to the USA by Ray Stantz for the home office (See Synopsis).
Thorton's specialty was good old fashioned ghosts, spectres and phantoms. He was especially well versed in the dynamics of hauntings.
His custom Neutrona Wand was capable of drawing ghosts directly into the device like a vacuum. The ectoplasmic entity was then sent through a tube into a ghost trap mounted on the side of the pack. This was referred to as the 'Quantum Incarcerator'.
David Nelson (played by David C.):
A combination of Ray and Winston. The character was our tank and big gun, which was a very different role from that normally played by this player. He was great at it.
David Nelson was a former US Marine from Queens, New York who had encountered supernatural phenomena both at home and abroad during his tours of duty. After being discharged from the military, Nelson met with the Ghostbusters to find out why he kept having these encounters. Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler determined that Nelson's personal bio-electric aura and psychic resonance were such that weirdness was attracted to him like a magnet.
David became a freelance paranormal investigator for a few years before Winston Zeddemore asked if he wanted to join the Ghostbusters at the home office.
David Nelson's specialty involved Zombies, Mummies, and similar corporeal 'Risen Dead'.
He carried a Proton 'Cannon' (nicknamed 'The Neutrona Rod'), a much larger barreled particle stream caster with a much heavier Proton Pack. It was not able to 'lasso' the ghosts and was less accurate in general.
Robert 'Robbie' Stadler (played by William C.):
Our Peter Venkman, all the way.
Hailing from sunny Southern California, Robert Stadler was once a championship surfer, professional beach bum, and all around officially cool dude. During one surfing competition, a storm rolled in and Stadler was pulled out further to sea than he expected. Before long he was attacked by what he thought was a shark, only to discover it was a Were-Shark!
Robert managed to escape the creature but no one would believe him when he described his encounter. Amid a number of shark attacks over the next few days, Stadler contacted the Ghostbusters and asked them what to do about the situation. The very next day, Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman flew out to Cali and teamed with Stadler to root out and defeat the menace.
Stadler stayed in touch with the team and was later recruited for the home office.
Robbie's specialty was were-creatures, sea monsters and cryptids.
His custom Neutrona Wand was about half the size and two thirds the weight of the standard version. This 'Proton Pistol' was attached to a slightly lighter and smaller Proton Pack and had a hip holster charger. The weapon was less powerful but more accurate and controlled than the standard type.
Prof. Gabriel Zimmerman (played by Me):
Very much Egon Spengler and incidentally, my character.
Gabriel Zimmerman was a rather eccentric, socially awkward, scientific genius who worked as an astrophysicist at a university observatory in Illinois. Though fascinated by Egon Spengler's work with particle accelerators and other Ghostbusters technology, Zimmerman didn't believe in the existence of ghosts. Zimmerman assumed the phenomena being encountered by the Ghostbusters was something else (I forget what it was now but I had this whole speech where Zimmerman explains the events of the first Ghostbusters film in much the way the air force debunks UFO sightings).
At some point, Zimmerman was contacted by the Ghostbusters when a spectral astronaut started causing trouble at NASA's Space Center in Houston, TX. While aiding them (thanks to his extensive knowledge of the space mission this particular astronaut was part of), Zimmerman came face to face with the phantom spaceman and changed his opinion (followed by his underwear).
For a time after that, Zimmerman continued to worked as an astrophysicist but for NASA. In his off hours he took courses on metaphysics and parapsychology. After getting a degree in those fields he quit his job and applied to the Ghostbusters. He was quickly hired for the home office.
Zimmerman is the team's resident mad scientist and tech guy. His specialty remains astronomy and astrophysics but also astrology, UFO lore, and extraterrestrials.
Gabriel's personally modified Neutrona Wand generates a spherical 'bubble' of super-charged protons that can trap an ectoplasmic entity or protect him as a force field. The latter is difficult and requires a moment to mess with the devices settings to make it happen.
UPDATE: In recent years my good friend Michael Moss has taken over the role of Gabriel Zimmerman in games I have GMed and the character could not be in better hands. Mike's portrayal of Zimmerman is less 'nerdy' and a bit more 'off beat' then mine but I love it!
Pedro Preguntas (played by AJ):
I had forgotten that later in the campaign's run, the group was joined by another New York native, the Bronx born Pedro Prequntas.
Pedro, a man of proud Puerto Rican descent, grew up on the mean streets of the Bronx doing...well...his exact profession prior to joining the Ghostbusters was never clear. In fact, while he was often alluded to that he may have been involved in various criminal activities, it was also implied that he wasn't completely keeping secrets about his past. He may actually have forgotten parts of it. The exact cause and nature of his memory lapses is unknown.
We do know that he had seen some strange things in the dark places and back alleys of New York City and he basically showed up on the 'doorstep' of the Ghostbusters' Firehouse one day informing the group that it was in everyone's best interest if they hired him. Apparently, he'd handled some local spooks and spectral manifestation all on his own, using just the chip on his shoulder and a strong right hook.
Prequntas has cojones the size of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's.
Unlike the rest of the team, Pedro used the standard Proton Pack and Wand you see in the original film.
Synopsis: A few years after the events of the first Ghostbusters film, supernatural activity is low and business is terrible. The various original members find themselves doing side jobs, speaking at lectures, in TV interviews, and doing personal research projects.
Following Halloween 1987, supernatural activity picks up again and various parties contact the 'main office' hoping to open franchise businesses. The most successful of these are Ghostbusters Houston (Zimmerman's location for a short while), Ghostbusters Kentucky, Ghostbusters New Mexico, and Ghostbusters UK in London (Thorton's location).
(Throughout the course of the campaign at least a half dozen others are mentioned. Though never seen or encountered, the Ghostbusters Louisiana franchise, located in the city of New Orleans, is supposed to be especially badass).
As the business side of things takes up more and more of their time and they get a chance to go into the field less and less, the original Ghostbusters decide to recruit a new team to operate out of the home office in New York City. They choose the best people from their various franchise operations and a couple of people the members have had personal dealings with. After an exhaustive process of going through dozens and dozens of candidates they decide on Dr. Alexander D. Thorton (Leader, Head Researcher and Accounting), David Nelson (Field Commander, Tactical Specialist, and Cook), Stadler (Front Man, PR Guy, and Customer Relations) and Zimmerman (Science, IT, Fringe Technician). Eventually the group is so busy they add Prequntas (who is their primary driver and mechanic).
Adventures were mostly episodic, with very few multi-part stories or story arcs. The sessions (often called Episodes actually) were relatively short compared to other game sessions I was running at the time (as noted early - 4 or 5 hours as opposed to our usual 8-12). That said, some of the most memorable Episodes were longer than usual and/or multi-parters. Interesting, no?
The game was action packed, full of cool and creepy ideas, but at heart it remained a comedy. The focus was on seriously spooky situations but often came alive through its oddball characters and clever humor in the vein of the first film.
Bonus Features:
My friend Joe (who played Thorton) was/is an absolute Ghostbusters fanatic. Without him the campaign would not have worked half as well as it did. He had the 'making of the movie' book, built a prop Proton Pack out of found objects that looked fantastic, and was especially good at creating adventures with supernatural beings inspired by unexpected sources but which fit perfectly into the campaign (Such as an attractive though evil witch based on Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty who was awesome to battle!).
We made a couple of parody songs for the campaign including 'Only The Ghosts Die Young' (Sung to Billy Joel's 'Only The Good Die Young') and 'California Screaming' (Sung to 'California Dreaming' By The Mamas and The Papas).
Our uniforms were originally the same as the ones in the movies, then differen't colors like the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, and then finally we settled on a new, updated uniform that was the same for everyone (though we all wore it differently. Sleeves rolled up, front open, front zipped to the top, etc.).
Pedro Preguntas (played by AJ):
I had forgotten that later in the campaign's run, the group was joined by another New York native, the Bronx born Pedro Prequntas.
Pedro, a man of proud Puerto Rican descent, grew up on the mean streets of the Bronx doing...well...his exact profession prior to joining the Ghostbusters was never clear. In fact, while he was often alluded to that he may have been involved in various criminal activities, it was also implied that he wasn't completely keeping secrets about his past. He may actually have forgotten parts of it. The exact cause and nature of his memory lapses is unknown.
We do know that he had seen some strange things in the dark places and back alleys of New York City and he basically showed up on the 'doorstep' of the Ghostbusters' Firehouse one day informing the group that it was in everyone's best interest if they hired him. Apparently, he'd handled some local spooks and spectral manifestation all on his own, using just the chip on his shoulder and a strong right hook.
Prequntas has cojones the size of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's.
Unlike the rest of the team, Pedro used the standard Proton Pack and Wand you see in the original film.
Synopsis: A few years after the events of the first Ghostbusters film, supernatural activity is low and business is terrible. The various original members find themselves doing side jobs, speaking at lectures, in TV interviews, and doing personal research projects.
Following Halloween 1987, supernatural activity picks up again and various parties contact the 'main office' hoping to open franchise businesses. The most successful of these are Ghostbusters Houston (Zimmerman's location for a short while), Ghostbusters Kentucky, Ghostbusters New Mexico, and Ghostbusters UK in London (Thorton's location).
(Throughout the course of the campaign at least a half dozen others are mentioned. Though never seen or encountered, the Ghostbusters Louisiana franchise, located in the city of New Orleans, is supposed to be especially badass).
As the business side of things takes up more and more of their time and they get a chance to go into the field less and less, the original Ghostbusters decide to recruit a new team to operate out of the home office in New York City. They choose the best people from their various franchise operations and a couple of people the members have had personal dealings with. After an exhaustive process of going through dozens and dozens of candidates they decide on Dr. Alexander D. Thorton (Leader, Head Researcher and Accounting), David Nelson (Field Commander, Tactical Specialist, and Cook), Stadler (Front Man, PR Guy, and Customer Relations) and Zimmerman (Science, IT, Fringe Technician). Eventually the group is so busy they add Prequntas (who is their primary driver and mechanic).
Adventures were mostly episodic, with very few multi-part stories or story arcs. The sessions (often called Episodes actually) were relatively short compared to other game sessions I was running at the time (as noted early - 4 or 5 hours as opposed to our usual 8-12). That said, some of the most memorable Episodes were longer than usual and/or multi-parters. Interesting, no?
The game was action packed, full of cool and creepy ideas, but at heart it remained a comedy. The focus was on seriously spooky situations but often came alive through its oddball characters and clever humor in the vein of the first film.
Bonus Features:
My friend Joe (who played Thorton) was/is an absolute Ghostbusters fanatic. Without him the campaign would not have worked half as well as it did. He had the 'making of the movie' book, built a prop Proton Pack out of found objects that looked fantastic, and was especially good at creating adventures with supernatural beings inspired by unexpected sources but which fit perfectly into the campaign (Such as an attractive though evil witch based on Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty who was awesome to battle!).
We made a couple of parody songs for the campaign including 'Only The Ghosts Die Young' (Sung to Billy Joel's 'Only The Good Die Young') and 'California Screaming' (Sung to 'California Dreaming' By The Mamas and The Papas).
Our uniforms were originally the same as the ones in the movies, then differen't colors like the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, and then finally we settled on a new, updated uniform that was the same for everyone (though we all wore it differently. Sleeves rolled up, front open, front zipped to the top, etc.).
We had three vehicles. The first was the original Ecto-1. The second was a motorcycle used primarily by Robbie Stadler. Later we added a truck/van type design based on an Ice Cream Truck I believe. It had a Ghost Storage/Containment Unit inside where the freezer would be.
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Barking Alien
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Campaigns A-To-Z: Fedifensor
Last one was a long one. Hopefully an enjoyable one. This one might be a bit long as well.
F is for Fedifensor
Title: Star Trek: Fedifensor
System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game, FASA System - Second Edition.
Circa: I tried to do the math on this, and it came out off. I'm pretty sure I've made a mistake somewhere. You see, I recall running this campaign in Junior High School. If memory serves, the game should have occurred around 1984. At the same time, the ship we used was from a FASA book that wasn't out until 1985.
Computer, check the chronometer on the Captain's Logs.
Player Base: This was a big group. There were originally seven guys, ages ranging from 14-16. Later, we lost one fellow to scheduling (read below - it's worth it), but gained a female player in the same age range.
Characters: The campaign began with a Human Captain, a Half-Human/Half-Vulcan First Officer/Helmsman, an Arkenite Navigator, a Human Engineer, an Human Security Chief, a Vulcan Science Officer and a Human 'Chief'. The Chief was kind of a homebrew idea. He specialized in things like Transporter Operation and Shuttlecraft Pilot and served as the reoccurring background guy who does what you need for that adventure. The First Officer eventually left for his own command, the Science Officer switched to being First Officer, and a female player joined as a Human Science Officer.
A few other players played occasional drop-in characters, like reoccurring guest stars.
As I've mentioned in previous posts on the subject of running a Star Trek game, the ship is also a key character in the campaign, not to be forgotten or ignored.
Throughout most of this game, the ship was a Remora Class Escort dubbed the USS Fedifensor (NCC-1984), though the ship was modified a number of times over the course of the campaign. Improvements made to the vessel included improved Impulse Engines and Maneuvering Thrusters, Photon Torpedo Banks (which we did not start with) and upgraded Laboratory, and Medical Facilities (although they were still relatively small).
In addition, the wing-like, wedge shaped objects seen on the port-ventral (bottom left) and starboard-ventral (bottom right) of the Remora are Mission Pods, which can be swapped out for a variety of purposes. We saw the use of a number of different pods during the course of the campaign. Most memorable were the Troop Carrier Pods, the Medical Evac Pods, the Photon Test Pods (before the permanent torpedo tubes were installed), and the 'Party Pods', so nicknamed because they carried a massive diplomatic contingent that spent a large part of that adventure partying, and celebrating. Until the murder that is...Bum Bum BUMMM!
After about two dozen sessions or so, the Player playing the ship's first officer couldn't make it to the scheduled sessions. We decided to run a send off adventure where it's revealed that he has made Captain, and been given his own ship.
About 2 weeks later, I talk to the player of the first officer turned captain, and it turns out he had begun running a Star Trek campaign of his own. His younger brother played his former character, and the campaign followed the adventures of his new ship in the same area of space as my campaign. We stayed in touch, traded notes, and soon it was clear to any player of either campaign that the continuity of the two games was shared.
One additional Player came in to my campaign around this point. Female, same age range.
A few more months go by, and my friend and I met up with a good friend of ours at a local pizza place. We hadn't seen him in forever, as he was older, and had joined the navy (or Coast Guard or something), and was now back for a while it seemed. When he asked us if we still gamed, we told him about our Trek games. He flipped out. A huge fan of Star Trek, and a big gamer he wanted in, but neither game met with his schedule. Using our campaigns as a basis, we helped him develop his own to run with a few friends, and navy buddies. Then it hit me...all three campaigns were in the same sector of space, right?
So...
It all culminated a few months after that. Rumors, and side adventures in all three campaigns led to the belief that a species of energy beings were possessing people throughout the Federation, and the Klingon Empire. Everything led up to a potential take over of our sector headquarters, Starbase Templar.
What happened next became legend in our gaming circles for years afterward (Perhaps that's a bit dramatic. No? Not dramatic enough?). Three GMs, 17 players, three Starships...a 24 hour gaming session that featured a battle between the forces of the alien invasion, and the PC vessels, as well as a lot of running around Starbase Templar trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
In the end, 4 PCs were killed, including the former first officer turned captain, who sacrificed himself, and destroyed his own vessel to eliminate the dimensional portal the aliens were using to enter our reality.
Synopsis: Roughly set just after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the main focus of the campaign was a Remora Class Escort, the USS Fedifensor, assigned to patrol the Klingon border and Organian Treaty Zone. The vessel's primary purpose was described as, "upholding, and defending the ideals of the Federation and it's people on a hostile frontier".
Most of our early missions were very action/adventure oriented, with numerous battles against Orion Pirates and Klingons, thwarting smuggling operations and escorting convoys, or diplomats, ambassadors and other high ranking officials to, and from their various points of origin, and destinations.
This eventually gave way to a mix of action and espionage, and than some more traditional, science fiction-y type adventures later on. This is one of the rare campaigns I've run where I used a lot of modules. I modified and adapted a number of the FASA Star Trek RPG modules to fit our particular campaign.
If I remember correctly, near the end of the campaign, our ship was decommissioned and the new USS Fedifensor was a Durrett Class Cruiser.
Bonus Features:
The name of the ship, Fedifensor, comes from an adventure in the November 1982 issue of Dragon Magazine (#67). It is the name of a Holy Avenger style sword and the focus of that particular scenario.
We often imagined and illustrated the Mission Pods on the Remora Class very differently from how FASA did (and indeed, differently than later fan depictions as well). For us, they were thicker nearer to where they touched the ship's saucer, more wedge shaped, with a vertical 'dorsal fin' on top. One of the players suggested each type of pod looked different depending on it's function.
This was the first campaign I ran with a regularly attending female player.
Prior to the extravaganza finale described above, no one had died in my campaign.
The Fedifensor's shuttlecraft were named Frazier, Foreman, Ali and Spinks. The Frazier saw the most use and had nose art with the words "Smokin' Joe" painted on the side. The Foreman was badly damaged and replaced by the Ali. Once the ship was upgraded and could handle more shuttles, the Foreman returned and the Spinks was added.
The dedication plaque of the Fedifensor reads, "It is better to fight for something, than live for nothing". George S. Patton.
Star Wars...then Star Trek...what could be next?
It's me. Superheroes of course...
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Barking Alien
F is for Fedifensor
Title: Star Trek: Fedifensor
System: Star Trek, The Role Playing Game, FASA System - Second Edition.
Circa: I tried to do the math on this, and it came out off. I'm pretty sure I've made a mistake somewhere. You see, I recall running this campaign in Junior High School. If memory serves, the game should have occurred around 1984. At the same time, the ship we used was from a FASA book that wasn't out until 1985.
Computer, check the chronometer on the Captain's Logs.
Player Base: This was a big group. There were originally seven guys, ages ranging from 14-16. Later, we lost one fellow to scheduling (read below - it's worth it), but gained a female player in the same age range.
Characters: The campaign began with a Human Captain, a Half-Human/Half-Vulcan First Officer/Helmsman, an Arkenite Navigator, a Human Engineer, an Human Security Chief, a Vulcan Science Officer and a Human 'Chief'. The Chief was kind of a homebrew idea. He specialized in things like Transporter Operation and Shuttlecraft Pilot and served as the reoccurring background guy who does what you need for that adventure. The First Officer eventually left for his own command, the Science Officer switched to being First Officer, and a female player joined as a Human Science Officer.
A few other players played occasional drop-in characters, like reoccurring guest stars.
As I've mentioned in previous posts on the subject of running a Star Trek game, the ship is also a key character in the campaign, not to be forgotten or ignored.
Throughout most of this game, the ship was a Remora Class Escort dubbed the USS Fedifensor (NCC-1984), though the ship was modified a number of times over the course of the campaign. Improvements made to the vessel included improved Impulse Engines and Maneuvering Thrusters, Photon Torpedo Banks (which we did not start with) and upgraded Laboratory, and Medical Facilities (although they were still relatively small).
In addition, the wing-like, wedge shaped objects seen on the port-ventral (bottom left) and starboard-ventral (bottom right) of the Remora are Mission Pods, which can be swapped out for a variety of purposes. We saw the use of a number of different pods during the course of the campaign. Most memorable were the Troop Carrier Pods, the Medical Evac Pods, the Photon Test Pods (before the permanent torpedo tubes were installed), and the 'Party Pods', so nicknamed because they carried a massive diplomatic contingent that spent a large part of that adventure partying, and celebrating. Until the murder that is...Bum Bum BUMMM!
***
After about two dozen sessions or so, the Player playing the ship's first officer couldn't make it to the scheduled sessions. We decided to run a send off adventure where it's revealed that he has made Captain, and been given his own ship.
About 2 weeks later, I talk to the player of the first officer turned captain, and it turns out he had begun running a Star Trek campaign of his own. His younger brother played his former character, and the campaign followed the adventures of his new ship in the same area of space as my campaign. We stayed in touch, traded notes, and soon it was clear to any player of either campaign that the continuity of the two games was shared.
One additional Player came in to my campaign around this point. Female, same age range.
A few more months go by, and my friend and I met up with a good friend of ours at a local pizza place. We hadn't seen him in forever, as he was older, and had joined the navy (or Coast Guard or something), and was now back for a while it seemed. When he asked us if we still gamed, we told him about our Trek games. He flipped out. A huge fan of Star Trek, and a big gamer he wanted in, but neither game met with his schedule. Using our campaigns as a basis, we helped him develop his own to run with a few friends, and navy buddies. Then it hit me...all three campaigns were in the same sector of space, right?
So...
It all culminated a few months after that. Rumors, and side adventures in all three campaigns led to the belief that a species of energy beings were possessing people throughout the Federation, and the Klingon Empire. Everything led up to a potential take over of our sector headquarters, Starbase Templar.
What happened next became legend in our gaming circles for years afterward (Perhaps that's a bit dramatic. No? Not dramatic enough?). Three GMs, 17 players, three Starships...a 24 hour gaming session that featured a battle between the forces of the alien invasion, and the PC vessels, as well as a lot of running around Starbase Templar trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
In the end, 4 PCs were killed, including the former first officer turned captain, who sacrificed himself, and destroyed his own vessel to eliminate the dimensional portal the aliens were using to enter our reality.
Synopsis: Roughly set just after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the main focus of the campaign was a Remora Class Escort, the USS Fedifensor, assigned to patrol the Klingon border and Organian Treaty Zone. The vessel's primary purpose was described as, "upholding, and defending the ideals of the Federation and it's people on a hostile frontier".
Most of our early missions were very action/adventure oriented, with numerous battles against Orion Pirates and Klingons, thwarting smuggling operations and escorting convoys, or diplomats, ambassadors and other high ranking officials to, and from their various points of origin, and destinations.
This eventually gave way to a mix of action and espionage, and than some more traditional, science fiction-y type adventures later on. This is one of the rare campaigns I've run where I used a lot of modules. I modified and adapted a number of the FASA Star Trek RPG modules to fit our particular campaign.
If I remember correctly, near the end of the campaign, our ship was decommissioned and the new USS Fedifensor was a Durrett Class Cruiser.
Bonus Features:
The name of the ship, Fedifensor, comes from an adventure in the November 1982 issue of Dragon Magazine (#67). It is the name of a Holy Avenger style sword and the focus of that particular scenario.
We often imagined and illustrated the Mission Pods on the Remora Class very differently from how FASA did (and indeed, differently than later fan depictions as well). For us, they were thicker nearer to where they touched the ship's saucer, more wedge shaped, with a vertical 'dorsal fin' on top. One of the players suggested each type of pod looked different depending on it's function.
This was the first campaign I ran with a regularly attending female player.
Prior to the extravaganza finale described above, no one had died in my campaign.
The Fedifensor's shuttlecraft were named Frazier, Foreman, Ali and Spinks. The Frazier saw the most use and had nose art with the words "Smokin' Joe" painted on the side. The Foreman was badly damaged and replaced by the Ali. Once the ship was upgraded and could handle more shuttles, the Foreman returned and the Spinks was added.
The dedication plaque of the Fedifensor reads, "It is better to fight for something, than live for nothing". George S. Patton.
***
Star Wars...then Star Trek...what could be next?
It's me. Superheroes of course...
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Barking Alien
Monday, April 21, 2014
Campaigns A-To-Z: Ever Rimward
You may have noticed I am a little behind in producing entries for the A-To-Z Challenge. You would, in point of fact, be incorrect.
I am very behind. Extremely so. Monumentally would be an accurate assessment of how behind I am. Going to try to finish anyway.
Besides, the next few rock.
E is for Ever Rimward
Title: Ever Rimward
Gamemaster's Commentary:
Actually, Ever Rimward is the name I have given to a particular Star Wars universe continuity. It is actually made up of three separate campaigns that I eventually linked up together.
The first campaign, entitled "Tales from The Rim", though sometimes called "Tales Rimward", was started in 92' I believe. I forget what prompted it, but it lasted roughly a year and was extremely popular among my gaming group at the time. It is still remembered fondly by those who participated.
The second was very short lived. I had created it on the fly at GenCon in 93' or 94' on the day we were getting ready to head home.
I had attended GenCon that year with a large group of friends from the New York and New Jersey area, including the earliest incarnation of what I sometimes call 'The Jersey Group'. One member of the group, my late friend Martin, had been convinced to come even though he had only one experience with RPG campaigning thus far and it has been a generally negative one.
Martin enjoyed himself at GenCon but really didn't get to play any great games. He was walking that fine line between being interested in gaming and thinking it wasn't for him. Hoping to sway him to the Light Side, I threw together an impromptu game of Star Wars D6.
After an hour or so of gaming, and an 18 hour drive back to NJ, the first question on everyone's lips was, "So Adam, when are we continuing that Star Wars game?"
Continue it I did, but after four or five sessions, the game was becoming unmanageable because, quite frankly, I never expected it to go beyond an hour at GenCon. It wasn't designed to keep going.
I sat the Players down the next time we got together and explained this to them. I also told them that if they wanted, I would actually create a serious Star Wars campaign for them. Everyone agreed that this was the best approach and I followed up with one of the best campaigns I've ever run.
Lasting roughly twelve monthly sessions, this campaign, "Star Wars: Ever The Brave" - aka 'Star Wars The Animated Series', since many of the players imagined it felt like a Japanese Anime show - goes down in history as easily one of the top 10 campaigns I've ever run or been a part of.
A week before Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in the theatres, I assembled the Players of both groups (as many as I could), plus a few new additions, and ran an 8 hour adventure where the two teams met and faced off against an old enemy (from both campaign 1 and 3), on a familiar planet (to those in campaign 3), which ended by revealing the origin of one of the character from back in campaign 2. In addition, the main villain of campaign 1 ended up being their ally as he had a past grudge against the villain in campaigns 1 and 3. Whew.
That's right. We bad.
System: Star Wars, The Role Playing Game (Second Edition D6 System by West End Games)
Circa: I believe the dates were 1992 to 93 for the first campaign, 93 or 94 for the second mini-campaign and 94 to 95 for the third campaign. Additional adventures featuring the same continuity and characters were run in 99 and 2002.
Player Base: The first campaign featured five guys, ages 21-24. The second and third campaigns featured about seven players, four men and three women, ages 23-29. The later adventures featured a group consisting of a mix of the first two plus other men and women in those age ranges. Ethnicities were very diverse.
Characters:
Group #1 from Tales from the Rim are pictured above.
Group #2 consisted of an Assassin Droid, a Tusken Raider/Sand Person, a Pho-Pheahian Engineer, a Smuggler and a Mercenary.
Group #3 had a Smuggler, a Repair Droid trying to improve it's own design to the point where it became a nearly Human android, a Mad Scientist, a Vhaspear (Original alien species) Medical Doctor/Scientist, a Brash Pilot, a Twi'Lek Dancer/Assassin and a Young Jedi.
Synopsis: OK, let's see if this can be conveyed in a way that makes sense and gives you some idea of how awesome these games were.
Tales From The Rim focused on the Star Wars universe's Outer Rim Territories three years after Return of the Jedi. Remnants of the Imperial Empire controlled some of the systems rimward of the New Republic and had recently captured members of a terrorist cell posing as a religious group called the Ho-Ken-Tota.
Unfortunately, their intel was bad and they captured the wrong people. The PCs all meet as prisoners onboard an old Victory-Class Star Destroyer (an older design than the one in the films), currently on course to drop them off at a penal colony. During the trip, the Star Destroyer is attacked by zealot members of the real Ho-Ken-Tota. The PCs must survive the attack and escape the ship, which is damaged and out of control.
Sometime after reaching relative safety on Tatooine, each PC reveals a bit of their background to the others and they decide to team up, as some of their background elements overlap. Before long, they are a band of brothers, and one sister (NPC) seeking to destroy the evil, Sith Inquisitor Prakken Drol and the mysterious Sith lord, Darth Galos.
In the final battle against the Imperial forces and their allies and the PCs, Prakken Drol's command ship is destroyed, instantly killing his second in command, Admiral Moloff, and likely killing Drol as well. Darth Galos escapes. One of the PCs sacrifices himself to destroy the enemy vessel and the shipyard facility he is using as a base.
The mini campaign was set at an unknown point in the Star Wars saga. It revolved around a mysterious escape pod crashing in the Tatooine desert known as the Dune Sea. An Assassin Droid painted metallic red emerges and encounters a large predator which is quickly dispatches. Having witnessed the event is a Sand Person named Fa'Hee. The Tusken Raider saw the pod crash and the droid's handiwork and believes him to be both a friend and 'The Red Metal Spirit of Death'. The two journey together to the nearest city, as the Red Metal Spirit of Death has told Fa'Hee he must return to the night sky where 'A Great Spirits War' is happening even as they speak.
The ruse doesn't fool the other PCs but they decide to humor the two nutcases as the droid actually has some money to pay them to help him return to space.
We kind of ended it there.
Ever The Brave takes place during the original trilogy. A number of the different people from very different walks of life (the PCs) all know a fellow named Tiree Palmight. Suddenly, Palmight disappears leaving clues as to where he might have gone. The PCs pursue the leads, run into each other and find themselves on the run from bounty hunters and Imperial agents looking for Palmight. They also discover some oddities in their relationships with and descriptions of their missing friend. Some describe him as an older fellow, a wise man, a scientist and a mentor. Some say he was a scoundral and a rogue but with a heart of gold. Two women seem to describe a much younger man, a rebel, a visionary and a lover. Who is the real Tiree Palmight?
It turns out that Tiree Palmight was Jedi, made a Knight just prior to the rise of the Empire. He was hunted down by Darth Vader's lackey, a force sensitive Inquisitor by the name of Prakken Drol (This is tied into the Tales From The Rim campaign. Drol killed the father of Drake Madamus, that groups resident Jedi.). Palmight crashed on the planet Kolindoor, the site of an ancient force using splinter culture. His ship was transporting parts and equipment for the clone banks used during the Clone Wars. By combining this equipment with some of the old Kolindoor technology, Palmight was able to clone himself (it was never clear how many times).
The small team of Palmights made survival on the barren world a little easier. While on this planet, Tiree communed with his other selves and had a prophetic vision. Eventually, the lot of them were rescued by Tiree's half-brother, Tiron Gold, and the group went about trying to prevent the tragedy that Palmight perceived in his vision. To this end he and his clones manipulated the PCs into various situations that would eventually lead them to find each other and join forces to defeat Drol and his allies.
Eventually, the PCs become pivotal parts of the Star Wars story, if only off to the left of what you've seen. It was this group that transported the Bothan spies that stole the plans to the second Death Star. It was this group that freed Sullust, the planet used as a staging area for the rebel fleet before the Battle of Endor.
In their final battle: The female Young Jedi kills Prakken Drol's Twi'Lek apprentice and adds in the defense of Endor. The alien Physican, Dr. Bospero, escapes to Sullust with radical healing technology based on the Kolindoor/Cloning devices and techniques. The Brash Pilot, adopted as a daughter by Tiron Gold, takes out one of the Star Destroyers at the Battle of Endor as the power of the Force awakens within her. Our Twi'Lek Dancer and Mad Scientist board the second Death Star, steal some key information and than attempt to escape together but are separated. She makes it safetly to Sullust but the Scientist is lost. The Smuggler and his all too Human Droid somehow merge, enter an escape pod, and are blasted into deep space in the wrong direction...
The Mad Scientist eventually crashes on Tatooine and loses his memory. Dr. Gustal Frahkeen is found by Sand People who called him Fa'Hee. Some months later, the second pod crashes containing the merged Smuggler/Droid biomechanical construct, who is mistaken for an Assassin Droid by many and as 'The Red Metal Spirit of Death' by his former ally.
Bonus Features:
Where to start? OK...
I say 'Come to the Light Side' when most people say Dark Side. Why would I want you to be hateful, scared, and sad?
Tiree Palmight is an NPC in a sample adventure from the very first Star Wars RPG corebook by West End Games. I took a liking to the name.
All the R2 units in my games were initially named for dice. R2-D4, R2-D6, R2-D8, D10, D12, and D20.
Prakken Drol killed Drake Madamus' father Indego Madamus and downed Tiree Palmight. He had tonfa-like lightsabers, personal body armor, and a force field similar to the Droideka. This was long before the prequels however (all these games were).
Frahkeen of Campaign #3 becomes Fa'Hee of Campaign #2. Likewise, Smuggler En Fochs (pronounced Ian Fox) and IM1-MA-N2 (aka MAN-2) from Campaign #3 merge to become R3D-R1BB0N (aka 'Red Ribbon') in Campaign #2.
Red Ribbon is a reference to the evil organization of robot villains in Dragonball Z.
The name of the Smuggler's ship in Campaign #1 was originally 'The Good Fortune'. He gains a device that can give false transponder code readings and created the following additional identities: The Centurion Turtle, The False Profit, Ill Wind, and the Star Spray.
The look of Drake Madamus, anti-Imperial Vigilante Jedi, is based on Batman.
The Ho-Ken-Tota is mentioned in the Art of Return of the Jedi book. Markings on Jabba's Sand Skiff are attributed to them.
Some much more...
Special thanks to Keith Conroy and Aris Iliopoulos for the artwork.
May The Force Be With You.
AD
Barking Alien
I am very behind. Extremely so. Monumentally would be an accurate assessment of how behind I am. Going to try to finish anyway.
Besides, the next few rock.
E is for Ever Rimward
Title: Ever Rimward
Gamemaster's Commentary:
Actually, Ever Rimward is the name I have given to a particular Star Wars universe continuity. It is actually made up of three separate campaigns that I eventually linked up together.
The first campaign, entitled "Tales from The Rim", though sometimes called "Tales Rimward", was started in 92' I believe. I forget what prompted it, but it lasted roughly a year and was extremely popular among my gaming group at the time. It is still remembered fondly by those who participated.
The second was very short lived. I had created it on the fly at GenCon in 93' or 94' on the day we were getting ready to head home.
I had attended GenCon that year with a large group of friends from the New York and New Jersey area, including the earliest incarnation of what I sometimes call 'The Jersey Group'. One member of the group, my late friend Martin, had been convinced to come even though he had only one experience with RPG campaigning thus far and it has been a generally negative one.
Martin enjoyed himself at GenCon but really didn't get to play any great games. He was walking that fine line between being interested in gaming and thinking it wasn't for him. Hoping to sway him to the Light Side, I threw together an impromptu game of Star Wars D6.
After an hour or so of gaming, and an 18 hour drive back to NJ, the first question on everyone's lips was, "So Adam, when are we continuing that Star Wars game?"
Continue it I did, but after four or five sessions, the game was becoming unmanageable because, quite frankly, I never expected it to go beyond an hour at GenCon. It wasn't designed to keep going.
I sat the Players down the next time we got together and explained this to them. I also told them that if they wanted, I would actually create a serious Star Wars campaign for them. Everyone agreed that this was the best approach and I followed up with one of the best campaigns I've ever run.
Lasting roughly twelve monthly sessions, this campaign, "Star Wars: Ever The Brave" - aka 'Star Wars The Animated Series', since many of the players imagined it felt like a Japanese Anime show - goes down in history as easily one of the top 10 campaigns I've ever run or been a part of.
A week before Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in the theatres, I assembled the Players of both groups (as many as I could), plus a few new additions, and ran an 8 hour adventure where the two teams met and faced off against an old enemy (from both campaign 1 and 3), on a familiar planet (to those in campaign 3), which ended by revealing the origin of one of the character from back in campaign 2. In addition, the main villain of campaign 1 ended up being their ally as he had a past grudge against the villain in campaigns 1 and 3. Whew.
That's right. We bad.
The cast of Star Wars: Tales from The Rim
Left to right, starting from the rear -
Back row: Phay-Rec-Seket-Tepth, a Bounty Hunter of the frog-like Tepth Species, Waphqui, a Nimbachi Pirate and Carlacc 'Junior' Acen, Brash Pilot
Middle row: Jeard'en Kaine, a Smuggler and his NPC girlfriend and mechanic, Naena Moonrift
(Along with R2-D6)
(Along with R2-D6)
Front row: Drake Madamus, Vigilante Jedi
System: Star Wars, The Role Playing Game (Second Edition D6 System by West End Games)
Circa: I believe the dates were 1992 to 93 for the first campaign, 93 or 94 for the second mini-campaign and 94 to 95 for the third campaign. Additional adventures featuring the same continuity and characters were run in 99 and 2002.
Player Base: The first campaign featured five guys, ages 21-24. The second and third campaigns featured about seven players, four men and three women, ages 23-29. The later adventures featured a group consisting of a mix of the first two plus other men and women in those age ranges. Ethnicities were very diverse.
Characters:
Group #1 from Tales from the Rim are pictured above.
Group #2 consisted of an Assassin Droid, a Tusken Raider/Sand Person, a Pho-Pheahian Engineer, a Smuggler and a Mercenary.
Group #3 had a Smuggler, a Repair Droid trying to improve it's own design to the point where it became a nearly Human android, a Mad Scientist, a Vhaspear (Original alien species) Medical Doctor/Scientist, a Brash Pilot, a Twi'Lek Dancer/Assassin and a Young Jedi.
Synopsis: OK, let's see if this can be conveyed in a way that makes sense and gives you some idea of how awesome these games were.
***
Tales From The Rim focused on the Star Wars universe's Outer Rim Territories three years after Return of the Jedi. Remnants of the Imperial Empire controlled some of the systems rimward of the New Republic and had recently captured members of a terrorist cell posing as a religious group called the Ho-Ken-Tota.
Unfortunately, their intel was bad and they captured the wrong people. The PCs all meet as prisoners onboard an old Victory-Class Star Destroyer (an older design than the one in the films), currently on course to drop them off at a penal colony. During the trip, the Star Destroyer is attacked by zealot members of the real Ho-Ken-Tota. The PCs must survive the attack and escape the ship, which is damaged and out of control.
Sometime after reaching relative safety on Tatooine, each PC reveals a bit of their background to the others and they decide to team up, as some of their background elements overlap. Before long, they are a band of brothers, and one sister (NPC) seeking to destroy the evil, Sith Inquisitor Prakken Drol and the mysterious Sith lord, Darth Galos.
In the final battle against the Imperial forces and their allies and the PCs, Prakken Drol's command ship is destroyed, instantly killing his second in command, Admiral Moloff, and likely killing Drol as well. Darth Galos escapes. One of the PCs sacrifices himself to destroy the enemy vessel and the shipyard facility he is using as a base.
***
The mini campaign was set at an unknown point in the Star Wars saga. It revolved around a mysterious escape pod crashing in the Tatooine desert known as the Dune Sea. An Assassin Droid painted metallic red emerges and encounters a large predator which is quickly dispatches. Having witnessed the event is a Sand Person named Fa'Hee. The Tusken Raider saw the pod crash and the droid's handiwork and believes him to be both a friend and 'The Red Metal Spirit of Death'. The two journey together to the nearest city, as the Red Metal Spirit of Death has told Fa'Hee he must return to the night sky where 'A Great Spirits War' is happening even as they speak.
The ruse doesn't fool the other PCs but they decide to humor the two nutcases as the droid actually has some money to pay them to help him return to space.
We kind of ended it there.
***
Ever The Brave takes place during the original trilogy. A number of the different people from very different walks of life (the PCs) all know a fellow named Tiree Palmight. Suddenly, Palmight disappears leaving clues as to where he might have gone. The PCs pursue the leads, run into each other and find themselves on the run from bounty hunters and Imperial agents looking for Palmight. They also discover some oddities in their relationships with and descriptions of their missing friend. Some describe him as an older fellow, a wise man, a scientist and a mentor. Some say he was a scoundral and a rogue but with a heart of gold. Two women seem to describe a much younger man, a rebel, a visionary and a lover. Who is the real Tiree Palmight?
It turns out that Tiree Palmight was Jedi, made a Knight just prior to the rise of the Empire. He was hunted down by Darth Vader's lackey, a force sensitive Inquisitor by the name of Prakken Drol (This is tied into the Tales From The Rim campaign. Drol killed the father of Drake Madamus, that groups resident Jedi.). Palmight crashed on the planet Kolindoor, the site of an ancient force using splinter culture. His ship was transporting parts and equipment for the clone banks used during the Clone Wars. By combining this equipment with some of the old Kolindoor technology, Palmight was able to clone himself (it was never clear how many times).
The small team of Palmights made survival on the barren world a little easier. While on this planet, Tiree communed with his other selves and had a prophetic vision. Eventually, the lot of them were rescued by Tiree's half-brother, Tiron Gold, and the group went about trying to prevent the tragedy that Palmight perceived in his vision. To this end he and his clones manipulated the PCs into various situations that would eventually lead them to find each other and join forces to defeat Drol and his allies.
Eventually, the PCs become pivotal parts of the Star Wars story, if only off to the left of what you've seen. It was this group that transported the Bothan spies that stole the plans to the second Death Star. It was this group that freed Sullust, the planet used as a staging area for the rebel fleet before the Battle of Endor.
In their final battle: The female Young Jedi kills Prakken Drol's Twi'Lek apprentice and adds in the defense of Endor. The alien Physican, Dr. Bospero, escapes to Sullust with radical healing technology based on the Kolindoor/Cloning devices and techniques. The Brash Pilot, adopted as a daughter by Tiron Gold, takes out one of the Star Destroyers at the Battle of Endor as the power of the Force awakens within her. Our Twi'Lek Dancer and Mad Scientist board the second Death Star, steal some key information and than attempt to escape together but are separated. She makes it safetly to Sullust but the Scientist is lost. The Smuggler and his all too Human Droid somehow merge, enter an escape pod, and are blasted into deep space in the wrong direction...
The Mad Scientist eventually crashes on Tatooine and loses his memory. Dr. Gustal Frahkeen is found by Sand People who called him Fa'Hee. Some months later, the second pod crashes containing the merged Smuggler/Droid biomechanical construct, who is mistaken for an Assassin Droid by many and as 'The Red Metal Spirit of Death' by his former ally.
***
Where to start? OK...
I say 'Come to the Light Side' when most people say Dark Side. Why would I want you to be hateful, scared, and sad?
Tiree Palmight is an NPC in a sample adventure from the very first Star Wars RPG corebook by West End Games. I took a liking to the name.
All the R2 units in my games were initially named for dice. R2-D4, R2-D6, R2-D8, D10, D12, and D20.
Prakken Drol killed Drake Madamus' father Indego Madamus and downed Tiree Palmight. He had tonfa-like lightsabers, personal body armor, and a force field similar to the Droideka. This was long before the prequels however (all these games were).
Frahkeen of Campaign #3 becomes Fa'Hee of Campaign #2. Likewise, Smuggler En Fochs (pronounced Ian Fox) and IM1-MA-N2 (aka MAN-2) from Campaign #3 merge to become R3D-R1BB0N (aka 'Red Ribbon') in Campaign #2.
Red Ribbon is a reference to the evil organization of robot villains in Dragonball Z.
The name of the Smuggler's ship in Campaign #1 was originally 'The Good Fortune'. He gains a device that can give false transponder code readings and created the following additional identities: The Centurion Turtle, The False Profit, Ill Wind, and the Star Spray.
Jeard'en Kaine's modified Ghtroc 720 Light Freighter
'The Good Fortune'
The look of Drake Madamus, anti-Imperial Vigilante Jedi, is based on Batman.
The Ho-Ken-Tota is mentioned in the Art of Return of the Jedi book. Markings on Jabba's Sand Skiff are attributed to them.
***
Some much more...
Special thanks to Keith Conroy and Aris Iliopoulos for the artwork.
May The Force Be With You.
AD
Barking Alien
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