Overview
(Work in Progress)
History Overview:
Humanity has spread to the stars over generations and come into contact with an advanced alien species. This species has made no attempts at radio communication, not even to reveal its name. The first human ship to encounter this species was captained by a human obsessed with classical European literature and decided to label the race as Straniero (Italian for alien), but it has since been reduced to Stranos (plural and singular). The only communication that the Stranos have made was visual in the form of directly blocking the path of human vessals (and occasionally tractoring the human ships through warp jumps and leaving them on the edge of colonized human space). Otherwise the Stranos have been non-hostile. The systems and space ways the Stranos are "defending" seem to show no particular value and it is believed that the Stranos are merely trying to maintain a wide buffer around their homeworlds. Human vessels have not fired on the Stranos for fear of retaliation (Stranos ships vastly outsize human ships).
More recently edge colonies have been reporting strange sightings. Colonists are disappearing and bodies are being found slashed up (and partially eaten). A brief distress call is followed by silence. By the time human vessels can reach the colony, Stranos forces are finishing up planetary bombardment of the entire planet from high orbit. Humanity is perplexed that the Stanos would attack their colonies but not fire on the ships that respond to distress calls.
It is only a matter of time before Humanity clashes with the Stranos and determine how effective their weapons are against the Stranos.
Inspirational Sources:
The chief inspiration for this was the Terran Campaign from Starcraft. Basically the whole zerg covertly invade a planet, terrans start dying, and the protoss show up to sterilize the planet. I have no interest in making a Starcraft d20 game though because marrying this idea to preconcieved Starcraft balance would ultimately weaken the game.
This campaign also borrows from Bughunters (see d20 Future).
Naming Schemes:
Random names are hard to come up with (and stupid to boot, nothing is randomly named). So instead I'll be using historical explorers to name planets, solar systems, and stars.
Races, Technology, and Society:
Humans: Humans are pretty much as they currently are, only a little more advanced.
I think the main human government will be called the Unified Authority (yes I copied that from Clone of the Republic). There will also be colonies that maintain militias that are officially part of the UA Fleet but are more or less functionally seperate.
Personal weapons use the PL 5 ranged weapons table. Older weapons can still be found, but among military types, the OICW Assault Rifle and Falcon .45 are the most common.
Personal armor:
I need help here. I'm thinking Land Warrior Armor, and maybe just give it some environmental isolation feature (like filters) with a max of 1 hour of air when fully sealed.
Ground Vehicles:
I do want to include some sort of battle mecha. Probably a Large Mecha an Alumisteel superstructure, Alumisteel Armor, Cockpit (Back and Torso), A3X Dragon Flame-Thrower (Left Arm), M-9 Barrage Chaingun (Right Arm), M-5X series Rocket Launcher (Shoulders), Class I Sensor System (helmet), Life Support System (boots), Comm System (none). Purchase DC 37. The Sensors are PL 6, but it is basically radar plus a computer to interpret the information (there are personal computers today can do this with a basic Graphic Professor), but otherwise it is entirely PL 5.
I am also gonna make a tank and personnel transport.
Ships:
Human ship technology is a combination of PL 6-7. Engines are Thruster-Ion Engine combinations or Particle Impulse Engines. Weapons are the PL 6 ballistic weapons plus the missiles and mine. Mostly Needle Drivers (rapid fire Rail Guns).
Engines are all going to be Ion Engines, but larger human ships have collectors to power them, they haven't quite gotten it to Particle Impulse Engines, but they are close. Basically it will take time to collect fuel and they can keep a maximum of 5 uses at once (takes a week to collect enough matter from space to replace a use).
I think I want to restrict humans to Ultralight, Light, and Mediumweight ships. Probably design an alternate cruiser that can serve as a small carrier with 4 fighters (crew 1), 2 couriers (crew 4), and 1 escort (crew 8) for a total of 20 additional passengers, and Cruisers have 80 listed. Which leaves 60 more additional troops without cramming people.
Mostly though I want Human ships to be around 3,500 ft for fighters and transports and 3,000 for bigger things.
Stranos: No human has yet seen any evidence of the Stranos except for their ships. I think I'm gonna have Stranos ships be in the Ultralight (assault fighters and shuttle-transports), Mediumweight, and Heavy. And maybe later introduce a Superheavy (maybe colony ships). I think that the Stranos will have two main Ultralight fighters: interceptors and bombers.
Mediumweight Strike Cruisers: Strike Cruiser + some carrier ability
Heavyweight Battle Cruisers: Battle Cruiser + Fleet Carrier's fighter capacity
Stranos I want them all to be around 4,000 ft speed (or more)
I think I'm gonna downgrade the number of crew necessary for Stranos (probably Humans too), realistically I can't see there being a need for 320 crew for a Battle Cruiser, I think 120 sounds more realistic (80 on at once, and 40 asleep). Ships just shouldn't require constant maintainence and should be mostly automated. Modern nuclear subs have a crew of 120 enlisted men and 14 officers.
I never much liked the whole Protoss psyblade thing. They should be using guns (and not guns that look weird like in Stargate's Staff Weapons). I am a firm believer that all sentient life (when we discover other species) will be humanoid (probably bipedal) and similar form/function. The overall sizes may vary, but they should be similar. So their weapons should be similar too (pistol or rifle grips), only because it stands to reason that the most efficient design will be adapted (sorry, you can't accurately aim a staff weapon like you can a rifle with a pistol grip and aiming system).
Xenomorphs:
Now when I first started mapping them (naming them and their functions) I started giving them stupid names... then it occured to me. If I was encountering something the size of a dog that was vicious, I'ld probably refer to it as a dog (knowing that it wasn't infact a dog) instead of trying to give it some weird name.
Xenomorph is a catch all name that means "alien species" in Greek. Eventually I'll probably shorten the name to Xenos (Z-nose)
Types of Xenos will basically be a small sized one (zergling), a medium sized one (hydralisk that uses its claws), and a huge sized one (ultralisk). Their current names are Dog, Warrior, and Giant respectively. Additionally I am gonna make a gargantuan (Ultralight) transport one (Overlords) that is capable of grappling and penetrating hulls (and staying to keep it from venting). Acid spitting flyer also seems appropriate, but it should also be capable of grappling, maybe make it Huge sized. I think I'll give the Warriors a fly speed, or at least a glide speed (10 feet lateral for every 1 foot drop).
Burrowing, I am definitely gonna give the Dog, Warrior, and Flyer a burrow speed (probably like 10 ft.). Yes I said the Flyer will have a burrow speed.
Space flight speed will probably be slow for Xenos (like the 2,000 ft range), but I think I'll make them nearly invisible to sensors because they are purely organic (not much metal to bounce radar off).
Xenos construction will just be resin excretion (think Aliens) because the zerg building method in Starcraft was just kind of weird... But all Xenos are effectively drones.
Dogs: gonna use a dog, downgrade its size to small, but otherwise keep it the same.
Warrior: Start with Big Cat (pounce).
Giant: probably gonna start with an elephant, then give it some sort of slashing attack.
Appropriate Advanced Classes:
All of the Advanced Classes in the d20 Modern book are appropriate (although Martial Artist, Daredevil, and Personality might be a bit funny). Additional Advanced Classes from d20 Future are also good to include: Ambassador, Dogfighter, Dreadnought, Engineer, Explorer, Field Officer, Space Monkey, Technosavant, Tracer, Xenophile, Bughunter, and Mecha Jockey. The Prestige Classes in the UA Web Enhancement Mastermind, Sniper, and SpecOp are great additions as well.
Soldier is more appropriate for rank and file troops (humans have only fought each other in the history of this game). Bughunter is probably fine for players if they have encountered Xenos (and survived).
Future Posts:
Subsequent posts will detail ships, new equipment, species, planets, and adventure setups.
FYI: I find the idea that all missiles are different enough to require different launchers kind of silly. If there is one thing an engineer knows, it is that interchangeable parts are a good thing. Additionally, a missile launcher can only be used once per round.
This uses my Starship Rules Patch. The Phase 1 and Phase 2 attacks just list the attack bonuses for each weapon system for convenience, a weapon system can only be used in Phase 1 or Phase 2.
UA/A-5 Phantom
The latest in the A series of aerospace fighters, upgrading the sensor array to class III and modifying the fire-linked rail guns to autofire. The A-5 also has 8 internal missiles, typically CHE or KE warheads, but there have been recorded instances of using A-5's to field nuclear missiles.
UA/F-4 Lancer
The Lancer has been in service for almost as long as the E series Rake, but while the Rake features a pair of modified rail guns and a CHE missile launcher, the Lancer brings two pairs of fire-linked needle drivers and two missile launchers. Lancers are typically escorted by a pair of Rakes and two wings of Phantoms. The Lancer has external docking ports that allow four Phantoms and one Rake or Hopper to connect and swap personnel.
UA Standard Marine Equipment Load Out
Weapons: See Table 3-1: Progress Level 5 Ranged Weapon (except the twin thunder machine gun).
New Weapon:
Warp Drive (PL 9)
I'm modifying the spatial compressor so that while it can still do the instaneous movement, it has no tactical speed.
Stranos Interceptor
Little is known about the Stranos Interceptors other than they are very fast and seem to flicker in space. The UA has no recorded instances of Interceptors firing any of their weapons.
The Stranos Interceptor is infact capable of remote piloting thanks to the ansible on board. Typically the pilot is aboard is a nearby ship. However, an Interceptor can still be piloted from within.
After the first eyewitness account of the Stranos Super Cruisers, the UA immediately started to develope a super cruiser of their own code-named the Dreadnought. The Dreadnought was originally kept secret but as rumors of the Stranos super cruisers and the planetary bombardments they were doing spread, the United Authority publically announced the Dreadnought program in an effort to rally morale and to keep the UA united. Unknown to the public, the Dreadnought is the reason the Fleet Cruiser retrofit process is taking so long.
The Dreadnought is incorporating several prototype systems including the first human made particle impulse engine. It features a pair of eight way fire-linked neutronium drivers for pounding rival ships and another pair of four way fire-linked needle drivers for supressive fire on smaller ships. It also hosts a trio of massive four way fire-linked EMP cannons for disabling enemy ships.
The Dreadnought has standing orders to try to capture Stranos ships and to facilitate this, the Dreadnought carries a compliment of eight Rakers and eight Phantoms. The Dreadnought is currently escorted by four CC-2 Fleet Cruisers, ten Lancers and ten D-0s.
Xenos Subtype:
Certain traits are universal to all Xenos.
Special Qualities:
Act as One (Psi): Xenos in close proximity to each other coordinate their actions. If one is aware of a creature, they all are. If one is not flat footed, none are. The only way to flank a Xenos is if all Xenos in the encounter are flanked.
Fast Healing (Ex): All Xenos have fast healing equal to their HD.
Radiation Immunity (Ex): All Xenos are immune to the effects of stellar radiation.
Scent (Ex): All Xenos have the scent ability at triple the range. Xenos are able to scent creatures through most materials.
Vacuum Adaptation (Ex): Xenos have adapted to the vacuum of space and don't breath.
Feats: All Xenos receive Combat Reflexes and Zero-G Training as bonus feats.
Xenos 'Dog'
Small Aberration
Hit Dice: 1d8+2 (7 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40 ft (8 squares), climb 20 ft, burrow 10 ft
Defense: 17 (+5 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size), touch 16, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-3
Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d4+2)
Full Attack: 2 claws +6/+6 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Rake 2d4+4, vicious flanker
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, fast healing 1, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 21, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 3
Skills: Hide +9, Move Silently +9
Feats: Combat Reflexes*, Weapon Finesse, Zero-G Training*
Environment: any
Organization: pack (4-8), swarm (16+)
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Encounter Level (quantity): 2 (4), 3 (8), 4 (16+)
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: —
These small Xenos creatures are about the size of a dog and look like one crossbred with a dinosaur and a cockroach. Xenos dogs (for lack of a better name) attack with digging claws and usually launch ambushes from underground. Individually they aren't that dangerous, but in numbers they are terrifying. Enough Xenos Dogs can rip through pretty much anything.
Combat
Rake (Ex): if a Xenos dog hits with both claws in one round, it automatically deals an additional 2d4+4 damage.
Vicious Flanker (Ex): Xenos dogs receive a +1 cumulative bonus on all damage rolls for each other Xenos dog that is threatening that target.
Xenos 'Warriors'
Medium Aberration
Hit Dice: 4d8+12 (40 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft (6 squares), burrow 10 ft
Defense: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+7
Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d8+5 plus poison)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d8+5 plus poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Leap attack, poison, pounce, rake
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, fast healing 4, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 4, Wis 13, Cha 3
Skills: Hide +5, Move Silently +5
Feats: Combat Reflexes*, Improved Natural Attack (claws), Weapon Focus (claws), Zero-G Training*
Environment: any
Organization: pack (3-7), pair (leading pack of Xenos Dogs)
Challenge Rating: 2
Advancement: 5-8 (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -
These larger Xenos look like larger versions of the Xenos dog.
Combat
Leap Attack (Ex): As part of a charge, a Warrior is treated as having a fly speed equal to its ground speed.
Poison (Ex): Xenos warriors excrete an injury poison from glands in their mouths. This poisonous drool spills onto their claws coats them. The save DC is Constitution based (DC 15), failure results in 1d4+1 rounds of paralysis.
Pounce (Ex): If a Xenos warrior charges, it can make a full attack.
Rake (Ex): If a Xenos warrior hits with both claws in a round, it deals an additional 2d8+10 damage.
Xenos 'Giant'
Huge Aberration
Hit Dice: 11d8+55 (104 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 40 ft (8 squares)
Defense: 15 (-2 size, +7 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+26
Attack: Claw-tusk +17 melee (2d8+15)
Full Attack: Claw-tusk +17 melee (2d8+15) and 2 stamps +11 melee (2d6+5)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Awesome blow
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, DR 10/-, fast healing 11, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +8
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 10, Con 21, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2
Skills: Jump +24
Feats: Awesome Blow, Combat Reflexes*, Improved Bullrush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Claw-tusk), Zero-G Training*
Environment: any
Organization: solitary (with warriors and dogs), pair, herd (4-6)
Challenge Rating: 9
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -
Xenos giants are the largest and scariest of the Xenos ground breeds. At a distance they can be mistaken for elephants (at least by humans that have seen elephants). Up close, however, there is no mistaking a giant for an elephant.
Xenos giants have been known to hit M-2 Striders so hard, they go flying.
Combat
Awesome Blow: As a standard action, the Xenos giant may choose to subtract 4 from its melee attack roll and deliver an awesome blow. If the Xenos giant hits a corporeal opponent smaller than itself with an awesome blow, its opponent must succeed on a Reflex save (DC = damage dealt) or be knocked flying 10 feet in a direction of the Xenos giant’s choice and fall prone. The Xenos giant can only push the opponent in a straight line, and the opponent can’t move closer to the attacking creature than the square it started in. If an obstacle prevents the completion of the opponent’s move, the opponent and the obstacle each take 1d6 points of damage, and the opponent stops in the space adjacent to the obstacle. (reprinted from the 3.5 MM)
Xenos Whale
The Xenos equivalent of a transport, somehow the Xenos whale is capable of spaceflight. The Xenos whale benefits from a slow sensor signature to get close enough to an enemy to grapple, crack a hole in the ship, and spew the contents of its transport bladder onboard. A Xenos whale could be described as giant flesh blob with a pair of huge arms and lots of crab like legs.
Treat the Whale as having 20 squares of capacity. Small Xenos count as one-half, medium Xenos as one, large Xenos as two, and huge Xenos as four.
Mecha and Starship combat are similar. A crew member can fire only weapon weapon per round.
Attack Actions are making one full attack with one weapon. Autofiring a weapon counts as an attack action.
Mecha Action Options:
United Authority Ground Forces
UA Marines
The backbone of the United Authority's ground forces.
Low-Level UA Marine (Strong 2): CR 1; Medium-size human; HD 2d8+2; hp 11; Mas 12; Init +2; Spd 20 ft.; Def 17 (+2 Dex, +2 class, +3 light combat armor), touch 14, flat-footed 15; BAB +2; Grap +4; Atk +4 ranged (2d8, OICW AR) or +4 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +4 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Full Atk +4 ranged (2d8, OICW AR) or +4 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +4 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL UA; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Occupation: Military (class skills: climb, survival).
Skills: Climb +6, Knowledge (tactics) +5, Survival +6, Read/Write (English), Speak (English).
Feats: Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Armor Proficiency (Light), Personal Firearms Proficiency.
Possessions: OICW assault rifle, .45 Falcon, light combat armor, two spare OICW magazines, various gear and personal possessions.
M-300 MG alterations. replaced OICW attacks with +4 ranged autofire (2d8, M-300 MG).
Mid-Level UA Marine (Strong 6): CR 5; Medium-size human; HD 6d8+6; hp 33; Mas 12; Init +3; Spd 20 ft.; Def 22 (+3 Dex, +3 class, +6 MilTac armor), touch 16, flat-footed 19; BAB +6/+1; Grap +8; Atk +9 ranged (2d8, OICW AR) or +8 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +9 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Full Atk +9/+4 ranged (2d8, OICW AR) or +8/+3 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +9/+4 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL UA; SV Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +3; AP 0; Rep +1; Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Occupation: Military (class skills: hide, move silently).
Skills: Climb +10, Knowledge (tactics) +9, Survival +10, Read/Write (English), Speak (English).
Feats: Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Personal Firearms Proficiency.
Possessions: OICW assault rifle, .45 Falcon, MilTac armor, two spare OICW magazines, various gear and personal possessions.
M-300 MG alterations. replaced OICW attacks with +9 ranged autofire (2d8, M-300 MG) and +9/+4 ranged autofire (2d8, M-300 MG).
High-Level UA Marine (Strong 10): CR 9; Medium-size human; HD 10d8+10; hp 55; Mas 12; Init +3; Spd 20 ft.; Def 24 (+3 Dex, +5 class, +6 MilTac armor), touch 18, flat-footed 21; BAB +10/+5; Grap +12; Atk +11* ranged (3d8, OICW AR) or +12 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +13 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Full Atk +11*/+6* ranged (3d8, OICW AR) or +12/+7 melee (1d6+3, rifle butt) or +13/+8 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL UA; SV Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +4; AP 0; Rep +2; Str 14, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Occupation: Military (class skills: climb, survival).
Skills: Climb +14, Knowledge (tactics) +9, Survival +14, Read/Write (English), Speak (English).
Feats: Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Burst Fire, Personal Firearms Proficiency.
Possessions: OICW assault rifle, .45 Falcon, MilTac armor, two spare OICW magazines, various gear and personal possessions.
*These attacks are using the OICW's two round burst fire setting. For single shot, replace with +13/+8 ranged (2d8, OICW AR).
M-300 MG alterations. replaced OICW attacks with +13 ranged autofire (2d8, M-300 MG) and +13/+8 ranged autofire (2d8, M-300 MG).
Strider Pilot
Sometimes, troops just aren't enough and Striders are brought in.
Low-Level UA Strider Pilot (Fast 2): CR 1; Medium-size human; HD 2d8+2; hp 11; Mas 12; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; Def 17 (+2 Dex, +4 class, +1 flight suit and helmet), touch 16, flat-footed 15; BAB +1; Grap +3; Atk +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +3 melee (1d4+2, pistol whip) or Strider; Full Atk +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +3 melee (1d4+2, pistol whip) or Strider; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft. or Strider; AL UA; SV Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 14, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Occupation: Military (class skills: drive, knowledge (tactics)).
Skills: Computer Use +2.5, Craft (mechanical) +5, Drive +8, Knowledge (tactics) +6, Repair +2.5, Read/Write (English), Speak (English).
Feats: Mecha Operation, Mecha Weapons Proficiency, Personal Firearms Proficiency
Possessions: M-2 Strider, .45 Falcon, flight suit and helmet, two spare Falcon magazines, mechanical repair kit, various gear and personal possessions.
Strider with Low-Level Pilot: CR 4; Large-size mecha; hp 100; Mas 100; Init +2; Spd 20 ft.; Def 23 (+2 Dex, +4 class, +8 equipment, -1 size), touch 15, flat-footed 21; BAB +2; Grap +11; Atk see below; Full Atk see below; Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; SQ hardness 15; AL UA; SV Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1; AP 0; Rep +0; Str 22, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.
Skills: Computer Use +2.5, Craft (mechanical) +5, Drive +8, Knowledge (tactics) +6, Repair +2.5, Read/Write (English), Speak (English).
Feats: Mecha Operation, Mecha Weapons Proficiency, Personal Firearms Proficiency
If you saw them, I think the next time you saw any sort of surface covered with it, you'ld run for the nearest spaceport.
I think something (not someone) would have to be mighty important for a crew to go into 'Xeno-formed' locations.
I've briefly researched Terraforming, and it looks like the process is:
Terraforming Mars, The Noble Experiment? Interview with Robert Zubrin
1. A century to settle Mars and create a substantial local industrial capability and population.
2. A half century producing fluorocarbon gases (like CF4) to warm the planet by ~10 C.
3. A half century for CO2 to outgas from the soil under the impetus of the fluorocarbon gases, thickening the atmosphere to 0.2 to 0.3 bar, and raising the planetary temperature a further 40 C.
This will cause water to melt out of the permafrost, and rivers to flow and rain to fall. Radiation doses on the surface will also be greatly reduced.
Under these conditions, with active human help, first photosynthetic microbes and then ever more complex plants could be spread over the planet, as they would be able to grow in the open.
Humans on Mars in this stage would no longer need pressure suits, just oxygen masks, and very large domed cities could be built, as the domes would no longer need to contain pressure greater than the outside environment.
4. Over a period of about a thousand years, human-disseminated and harvested plants would be able to put ~150 mbar (millibars) of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere. Once this occurs, humans and other animals will be able to live on Mars in the open, and the world will become fully alive.
That's the scenario, using current technological approaches. However technology is advancing, and 23rd Century humans will not conduct their projects using 21st Century means. They will use 23rd Century means and accomplish the job much faster than anyone today can suppose.
So if someone in the 24th Century, living on a fully terraformed Mars, should discover this interview, I believe that she will view it in much the same way as we today look at Jules Verne's lunar mission design.
We today look at Verne's ideas and say "Amazing, a man living a hundred years before Apollo foresaw it - and not only that- launched his crew of three from Florida, and returned them in a capsule landing in the Pacific Ocean where they were picked up by a US warship, all as things actually happened.
But launching people with heavy artillery - how 19th Century can you get?"
So our 24th Century Martian historian studying this interview will smile and say; "Incredible. Here are people 300 years ago talking about terraforming Mars. But doing it with fluorocarbon gases and green plants -how 20th century can you get?"
2. A half century producing fluorocarbon gases (like CF4) to warm the planet by ~10 C.
3. A half century for CO2 to outgas from the soil under the impetus of the fluorocarbon gases, thickening the atmosphere to 0.2 to 0.3 bar, and raising the planetary temperature a further 40 C.
This will cause water to melt out of the permafrost, and rivers to flow and rain to fall. Radiation doses on the surface will also be greatly reduced.
Under these conditions, with active human help, first photosynthetic microbes and then ever more complex plants could be spread over the planet, as they would be able to grow in the open.
Humans on Mars in this stage would no longer need pressure suits, just oxygen masks, and very large domed cities could be built, as the domes would no longer need to contain pressure greater than the outside environment.
4. Over a period of about a thousand years, human-disseminated and harvested plants would be able to put ~150 mbar (millibars) of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere. Once this occurs, humans and other animals will be able to live on Mars in the open, and the world will become fully alive.
That's the scenario, using current technological approaches. However technology is advancing, and 23rd Century humans will not conduct their projects using 21st Century means. They will use 23rd Century means and accomplish the job much faster than anyone today can suppose.
So if someone in the 24th Century, living on a fully terraformed Mars, should discover this interview, I believe that she will view it in much the same way as we today look at Jules Verne's lunar mission design.
We today look at Verne's ideas and say "Amazing, a man living a hundred years before Apollo foresaw it - and not only that- launched his crew of three from Florida, and returned them in a capsule landing in the Pacific Ocean where they were picked up by a US warship, all as things actually happened.
But launching people with heavy artillery - how 19th Century can you get?"
So our 24th Century Martian historian studying this interview will smile and say; "Incredible. Here are people 300 years ago talking about terraforming Mars. But doing it with fluorocarbon gases and green plants -how 20th century can you get?"
Neat stuff. I especially like the Dog's Vicious Flanker ability, though the name is sort of misleading, as it does not rely on flanking.
Maybe WoW Rogue would've been better? Or Xenos Gank? ;) If you have a better name, please share it.
Yeah, the vicious flanker ability means that if 12 Dogs surround a Strider, they each do 1d4+2+11 damage (1d4+13), so they might be able to overcome the Hardness 15 (max 1 damage). Maybe I should up the damage? But I didn't really want the Dogs to be much of a threat to Strider Pilots (in their striders). Although, their Rake should also benefit, so if the Dogs can hit twice it can do its rake as 2d4+15.
Also the Hardness 15 means that a Strider could potentially flamer another Strider "safely" (4d6 averages at 14 damage).
I also had an idea to give each of the Xenos a injury poison for paralysis 1d4+1 rounds (Con based DC: 10 + half HD + Con Modifier). But if I did that, I'ld probably get rid of the Vicious flanker ability. A friend of mine suggested I just give the poison to the Warriors.
The brave sons and daughters of settlers too proud to submit to distant UA control. The Colonial Militias fill the roll of sherrifs and defense force for the larger colonies.
Low-Level Militia (Dedicated 1/Strong 1): CR 1; Medium-sized human; HD 1d6+1 plus 1d8+1; hp 10; Mas 12; Int +2; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 17 (+2 Dex, +2 class, +3 light combat armor), touch 14, flat-footed 15; BAB +1; Grap +2; Atk +3 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +2 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Full Atk +3 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +2 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL Own Colony; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2; AP 0; Rep +1; Str 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.
Occupation: Rural (class skills: Climb, Survival).
Skills: Climb +4, Knowledge (Tactics) +5, Listen +6, Spot +6, Survival +8, Read/Write (English), Speak Language (English).
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank Shot.
Possessions: Light combat armor, OICW assault rifle, .45 falcon, 1 spare OICW magazine, 1 spare Falcon magazine, various gear and personal possessions.
Mid-Level Militia (Dedicated 3/Strong 3): CR 5; Medium-sized human; HD 3d6+3 plus 3d8+3; hp 30; Mas 12; Int +3; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 20 (+3 Dex, +4 class, +3 light combat armor), touch 17, flat-footed 17; BAB +5; Grap +6; Atk +7 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +7 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +6 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Full Atk +7 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +7 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +6 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL Own Colony; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5; AP 0; Rep +1; Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.
Occupation: Rural (class skills: Climb, Survival).
Skills: Climb +8, Knowledge (Tactics) +9, Listen +9, Spot +9, Survival +12, Read/Write (English), Speak Language (English).
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Double Tap, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
Possessions: Light combat armor, OICW assault rifle, .45 falcon, 1 spare OICW magazine, 1 spare Falcon magazine, various gear and personal possessions.
High-Level Militia (Dedicated 5/Strong 5): CR 9; Medium-sized human; HD 5d6+5 plus 5d8+5; hp 50; Mas 12; Int +3; Spd 30 ft.; Defense 22 (+3 Dex, +6 class, +3 light combat armor), touch 19, flat-footed 19; BAB +8/+3; Grap +9; Atk +11 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +11 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +9 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Full Atk +11/+6 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +11/+6 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +9/+4 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL Own Colony; SV Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +6; AP 0; Rep +3; Str 13, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.
Occupation: Rural (class skills: Climb, Survival).
Skills: Climb +12, Knowledge (Tactics) +13, Listen +12, Spot +12, Survival +16, Read/Write (English), Speak Language (English).
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Double Tap, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
Possessions: Light combat armor, OICW assault rifle, .45 falcon, 1 spare OICW magazine, 1 spare Falcon magazine, various gear and personal possessions.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
First contact happened in 2309. Captain Gitano Albrite was leading an expedition of roughly six hundred families to start a new colony tentatively named Leon. Eighteen weeks into the thirty week journey, alien ships--larger than anything the United Authority has produced--appeared out of no where and the existence of sentient alien life was confirmed. These ships seemed to fade in and out of view, but there was no doubt that they had placed themselves directly in the Leon convoy's path. After countless attempts at radio communication, Captain Albrite became determined to just go around the alien fleet, but each course correction was countered by the silent aliens. After numerous attempts to bypass them, the aliens activated some sort of tractor beam and towed the convoy back to where they started in a matter of seconds. In his report, Captain Albrite refered to the aliens as the Straniero, Italian for 'alien.' In the coming years, many similar conveys have been turned or towed back and the aliens given name has been shorted to the Stranos.
That was seventy-three years ago. In the last eleven months seven system colonies have been exterminated--Pizarro, Raleigh, Frobisher, Bartholomeu, Hawkins, Gaspar, and Corte Real. Every celestial body turned to dust or glass. Each following the same pattern: reports of people disappearing, torn up corpses, then silence. United Authority response fleets arrived too late, except at Corte Real, four months ago. The UA arrived in time to witness eight Stranos cruisers and two ships even larger than those turning the surface of Corte Real Minor into blasted glass from orbit.
That was four months ago. Since then the United Authority has rushed into production the largest starcraft known to exist. The Super Cruiser codenamed Dreadnought. The Dreadnought is a testiment to human ingenuity. Never has a craft so large been build so fast.
The Dreadnought is incorporating several prototype systems including the first human made particle impulse engine. Its weapon systems are top of the line EMP cannons to disable whatever the Dreadnought faces and neutronium drivers capable of punching holes clean through UA Fleet Cruisers.
The United Authority is dedicated to protecting your freedom and liberty. The Stranos can't stand against a united humanity.
A United Authority in our Milky Way.
Enlist today and defend your family, your people, your species.
Ah, found it. Complete Warrior, Swarmfighting. They'd be nasty with it, because it grants attack bonuses based on the number of allies with swarmfighting threatening the same target, and lets them share a square if they have swarmfighting. That'd be pretty lethal.... if you ever make a Devouring One equivalent, you could give them that to set them above the horde.
Also the Hardness 15 means that a Strider could potentially flamer another Strider "safely" (4d6 averages at 14 damage).
On average being the key words... but then again, a couple of points of fire damage is better than being swarmed.
Speaking of swarmed, a neat addition to the Xenos arsenal might be to add a swarm creature.
Yeah, while poison would be OK with the dogs, Vicious Flanker really captures the feeling of surrounding a command center with zerglings.
Now that I think about it, though, they'd really benefit from sneak attack... because their targets are flat-footed when they burrow up, and then they can probably arrange some flanking if they have the numerical advantage. More ideas for the Devouring One equivalents....
Mmmm... propaganda. It's what's for breakfast.
Xenos Plague Swarm
Diminuative Aberration (Swarm)
Hit Dice: 9d8+9 (49 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 40 ft.
Defense: 18 (+4 size, +4 Dex), touch 17, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/-
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6 plus implant)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction, implant
Special Qualities: Darkvision 50 ft., fast healing 9, half damage from area ballistic, immune to weapons (slashing, piercing, blundgeoning), scent, swarm traits, vulnerable to fire, Xenos traits.
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +7
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: Spot +6
Feats: Combat Reflexes*, Weapon Finesse*, Zero-G Adaptation*
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary, tangle (2-4 swarms), or colony (7-12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 5
Advancedment: -
Level Adjustment: -
At a distance it is easy to mistake a Xenos plague swarm for locusts, until you remember that locusts never immigrated from Earth. But even upclose this diminuative critter still looks like a locust, but it is far more dangerous.
Combat
Like any swarm, a plague swarm seeks to surround and attack any living prey it enoucters. A swarm deals 2d6 points of damage to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its move. The swarm can implant several members of the swarm into the bodies of its prey to infest the living with the Xenos virus.
Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with a plague swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based. Those wearing armor they are proficient with may add the nonproficient armor bonus to their save as an equipment bonus.
Implant (Ex): A plague swarm that doesn't move more than 5 ft. in a round can attempt to implant some members of the swarm into the body of a living creature as part of the swarm attack. The affected creature must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid having 1d3 Xenos plague bugs enter the body. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Usually the implanted plague bugs turn into eggs that gestate for a week before spewing a new Xenos plague swarm (for each implanted egg) from the body, killing the host in the process. Symptoms don't show themselves for six days. Twenty-four hours before the eggs hatch, the victim falls extremely ill (-10 to all ability scores, to a minimum of 1).
Rarely, however, the bugs break down and infect the host with the Xenos virus. Six days after exposure, the victim is driven to find an isolated location near other living creatures before cocooning to finish the change to a new Xenos breed. The mutation takes twenty-four hours.
When a creature is implanted, roll a percentile, 01-95 results in new plague swarms gestating, a result of 96-100 means the creature mutates into a Xenos.
Implantation isn't final doom for a creature. Any person with access to sophisticated medical (ultrasound or magnetic resonance scanning) equipment can locate the foreign bugs with a DC 20 computer use check (with a +2 synergy for 5 or more ranks in Treat Injury). To remove implanted bugs requires 1d4 hours of surgery (add one additional hour for each additional implanted bug).
Xenos Infected
Forever slaved to the will of the whole, these poor souls bring new diversity to the Xenos species.
Xenos infected appear much like they did before they emerged from their cocoons, except thick spurs jut from their skin and mix with natural hairs.
Sample Xenos Infected
Low-Level Xenos Infected Militia (Dedicated 1/Strong 1): CR 2; Medium-sized aberration (augmented humanoid); HD 1d6+1 plus 1d8+1; hp 10; Mas 12; Int +2; Spd 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.; Defense 19 (+2 Dex, +2 class, +2 natural, +3 light combat armor), touch 14, flat-footed 17; BAB +1; Grap +2; Atk +3 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +2 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt) or +2 melee (1d6+1, claw); Full Atk +3 ranged (2d8, OICW) or +3 ranged (2d6, .45 Falcon) or +2 melee (1d6+1, rifle butt) or +2/+2 melee (1d6+1, claw); SQ fast healing 2, Xenos traits; Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; AL Xenos; SV Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2; AP 0; Rep +1; Str 13, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 4.
Occupation: Rural (class skills: Climb, Survival).
Skills: Climb +4, Knowledge (Tactics) +3, Listen +6, Spot +6, Survival +8, Read/Write (English), Speak Language (English).
Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Combat Reflexes, Personal Firearms Proficiency, Point Blank Shot, Zero-G Training.
Possessions: Light combat armor, OICW assault rifle, .45 falcon, 1 spare OICW magazine, 1 spare Falcon magazine, various gear and personal possessions.
Creating a Xenos Infected
"Xenos Infected" is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid, monsterous humanoid, or animal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
A Xenos infected uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature's type changes to aberration (augmented humanoid/monsterous humanoid/animal). Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.
Hit Dice: Change all current and future racial Hit Dice to d8's.
Speed: Same as base creature. Base creatures size medium or smaller gain a burrow speed of 10 ft.
Defense: The base creature's natural armor improves by the following table:
1. Robots are like living creatures but constructs. Gaining stuff as any other race.
2. Robots are given upgrade equipment that simulate feats, skills, ability scores, etc. This is very cherry-pickable.
I might use robots with the Stranos, but not for the humans, it just doesn't jive with the general culture of the UA and Colonies (i.e. there are too many humans to manage as it is, if you go rid of 'low' jobs like soldiering, farming, etc and used robots, what are you going to do with all the people?).
But, a character wearing armor (they are proficient with) gets a bonus on the save to avoid being implanted (equal to the nonproficiency armor bonus). For MilTac armor that is +3.
There is a natural progression to everything. I think the Striders sort of fill the role of combat robots.
I do think remote combat robot-like things would be appropriate for the Stranos (since they already use remote piloting for Interceptors).
If you want to run a Stranos game and give the humans robots, go for it, but I'm not gonna include them in my campaign because it just doesn't fit the theme.
While the Stranos usually elect to bombard their enemies from orbit, when that collateral damage is unacceptable they beam down legions of assault mecha and remotely pilot them from orbit. The pair of clawed arms are menacing, but the disintegrator mounted on its back is terror inspiring. The Stranos ground walker also features a pair of fully articulating hands that are typically tucked underneath when not in use.
Stranos Ground Walker (PL 8): CR 6; Large construct; HD 6d10+20; hp 53; Mas -; Init +2; Spd 35 ft.; Defense 19 (-1 size, +10 equipment), touch 9, flat-footed 19; BAB +4; Grp +14; Atk +9 melee (1d6+6, claws) or +3 ranged (3d8, disintegrator); Full Atk +3 ranged (3d8, disintegrator) and +4/+4 melee (1d6+6, claws) or +9/+9 melee (1d6+6, claws) and -2 ranged (3d8, disintegrator); SQ: darkvision 180 ft., resistance 10 (acid, cold, electricity, and fire); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; AL none (remote piloted); SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3; Str 23, Dex 10, Con -, Int -, Wis 12, Cha -.
Skills: Climb +12, Listen +7, Navigation +11 (or pilots with +10 equipment bonus), Spot +7.
Feats: Personal Firearms Proficiency.
Equipment: Disintegrator on weapon mount (effectively unlimited ammo, runs off robot's power supply).
Frame: Armature Robot
Locomotion: Legs (4).
Manipulators: Claws (2), task hands (2).
Armor: Megatanium (+10 equipment)
Sensors: Class VII sensors
Skills Software: Climb skill progit (4 ranks), Listen skill progit (4 ranks), Navigation skill progit (1 rank), Spot skill progit (4 ranks).
Feat Software: Personal Firearms Proficiency
Ability Upgrade: Deterity upgrade (+2), Wisdom upgrade (+2).
Accessories: Ansible, AV transmitter (piped through ansible), integrated videophone (piped through ansible), magnetic feet, robolink (piped through ansible), robot repair unit, self-destruct system, survivor array, weapon mount.
Designer Notes: I am not sure of the CR for this one. It doesn't have a lot of hit points, and it needs a full-round action to repair 1d10 damage. Maybe I should give it a Holo Screen so it gets 20% concealment from targeted attacks? Or is the Inertial Inhibitor for DR 5/energy better?
Capital: New York, New York, Earth
Population: approximately 10,000,000,000
Exports: technology.
Primary Language: English
Even after nearly three-hundred years of colonizing the stars, Earth is still the official center of all human civilization and the capitol of the United Authority.
In 2019, NASA and Russian space programs collaborated to terraform Mars as an experiment to determine the viability of terraformation. By 2024 there were 100,000 people living on a Mars with enough atmosphere that travel outside the domes merely required a warm jacket and a breathing mask. By 2029 the Martian atmosphere had thicked and warmed enough to closely mirror Earth's Northern- and Southern-most climates.
2031 saw the creation of the first human starship capable of intersystem travel. This ship, named Forerunner, had a crew of sixteen and a passenger contingent of one-hundred scientists drawn from the NASA and Russian space programs. Their mission was to establish the first human settlement outside of the Sol system.
After thirteen months of travel, the Forerunner reached the system that would later be known as Columbus and set about terraforming a frozen planet. Seven reactors and two years later, enough ice and water were evaporated to provide a breathable atmosphere.
More colonization ships were built every year, and the 21st century became the second great expansion period in human history.
In 2056 a frustrated United Nations became dedicated to feeding the world, but first it had to protect the transporters of that food. A more aggressive plan was developed and within ten years nearly every subversive element was converted, locked away, or destroyed. A world without hunger went a long way to stopping terrorism on Earth.
As international conflict on Earth dwindled and the populations on Mars and Columbus Major grew a proposal was put before the United Nations: form a world government to lead humanity everywhere. In 2070, the United Authority was born and it wouldn't be challenged for almost one-hundred years.
December 21st, 2169 the Cartier System declared independence from the United Authority expecting Columbus, Corte Real, Gaspar, Marquette, and Magellan to follow suit. On Cartier Major people were celebrating a bloodless cecessation from the Authority. The UA disagreed and its response was swift. Five days after Cartier's announced independence, ten fleet cruisers entered orbit over Cartier six major cities and spaceports and began pouring phantoms spacefighters to check the militia forces. Six-hundred marines and one-hundred striders were landed in the capital.
January 1st, 2170 marked one-hundred years of a united humanity. It took three days to convince Cartier to reconsider membership in the United Authority.
That sounds good. Being able to ambush should make 53 hp more than enough. Especially since constructs don't have massive damage thresholds. So while one shot may force a fortitude save for a living target, that same shot might only take away a third of the hp of a construct.
I didn't give the robots AI's because I figured they would just be used a remote drones (the Stranos have ansibles allowing instantaneous communication, which means they could technically real-time control these drones from anywhere in the universe). Also Disintegrators don't have autofire, so they really only needed one feat (personal firearms proficiency).
Oh yeah read the photon screen from the future book it a messed up but really cool cloaking device.
I would only have a AI system in those robots if the romote link is severed.
That is a great point, except that the ansible can't be jammed, the only way to sever the link is to disable the tranceiver on one end or the other. So basically, shoot the remote operator (or his/her terminal) or shoot the drone.
Personally, I'd use shields. Based 'em off of the starship shields in Future Tech, and used them for everything (from infantry to starships) last time I ran a future war campaign. Worked OK. But then again, perhaps I am thinking "in the Protoss box," so to speak...
By "limited cloak" do you mean holo or photon shield? I like concealment, personally... causes fewer problems with metagaming than invisibility ("Well.... I know about where it has to be out of character, so I chuck an EMP grenade thereabouts."). And more fun (because no one likes being slaughtered by invisible foes). Though the ranged attack is a good tradeoff that would make it hard to abuse. I don't know... your game, your call.
The second thing is my thread on animal planet if you have the cyber space book you can do what i did as a experiment in the animal planet thread. I think it has a nice chance of happening in the universe you created.
As for your animal planet scenario, I didn't see any mention earlier of humans having cybernetics. None of the humans posted had any. So I doubt that they have much serious cybernetic capability. If they had 'netics, you'd think they'd be giving them to the elite high-level SpecOp marines. And they'd give neural links to their Strider pilots. Since they didn't, I doubt that they have much in the way of cybernetic technology, which your scenario relies on almost entirely (sure, an int 4 mutant giant badger is great, but not as useful as an int 10 badger. And when you go into a low-oxygen environment, you might have trouble getting it to accept an oxygen system. And it is toast if the enemy uses chem or bioweapons; no way you're going to be able to get an enclosed environmental suit on that thing.).
I didn't see any mention earlier of humans having cybernetics. None of the humans posted had any. So I doubt that they have much serious cybernetic capability. If they had 'netics, you'd think they'd be giving them to the elite high-level SpecOp marines. And they'd give neural links to their Strider pilots. Since they didn't, I doubt that they have much in the way of cybernetic technology
For some dumb reason, the Neural link uses up as much space as a weapon, environmental sealing, and all that. There simply wasn't room for it. Plus, I'm super skeptical of the ability to control a computer with your brain. Multiple successful attempts at direct brain connections yielded pretty crumby results. The only one that was at all useful was a sonar hat that was connected into a man's brain, but he had to practice to be able to use it and it wasn't even that good (he couldn't really tell which way the obstruction was, just that there was one). More useful cybernetics are those that replace organs or regulate body chemicals (stimulant pumps, portable dialosis machines, implantable cardiac defibulators), although one guy did put a chip in his forearm so that he could control a robotic arm and powered wheelchair with his tendons.
All that said.
Why the hell would people terraform a planet just to populate it with animals that have had their brain capacity artificially enhanced? They simply wouldn't. Real estate is one of the most valuable things. You can grow new plants and forests. Breed new livestock. But you can't grow new land. And to get new resources (like metals) you also need to find new lands.
Now I could see a world that has already been raped of every natural reserve being remolded into an animal preserve. But no one would bother enhancing them (why create a competing culture/species? You just wouldn't).
But. I can see cybernetic implants being tested on primates before use on humans. Just not in any sort of number that could populate a plant, and those primates would probably go one of a few ways: (1) long term observation to see the effect of such implants, (2) surgery to remove the implants (to see what the chances of survival are for such an operation). Why? Because if chimps have had implant X in their brains five years longer than humans, and the chimps start going crazy from it at year 7, then they need to know how to remove the implants without killing people, but they will have some lead time to figure out how to do it.
-JK
Listening Station 14 has gone silent. Stations 15 and 7 confirm that it is still there, but they have yet to raise them on point comms. Drake System needs every station scanning for the Stranos in case they swing our direction. I hope your team likes each other, because it is a two days ride out to Station 14.
Do you have anything in the works for the Stranos bombardment weapons, or are they going to be more an instant-kill plot device?
Do you have anything in the works for the Stranos bombardment weapons, or are they going to be more an instant-kill plot device?
I'm thinking instant kill plot device. While technically a ship has to get within like 10 miles of a planet (about 10% of a low orbit) to be able to strike the surface, I don't care...
But let's say that a ship was Auto-Masering 1,000,000 square foot (1,000 ft x 1,000 ft) sections of the planet (2.15 square miles a minute), but a person were to "dodge" the autofire. There is still the little fact that the ground was just turned to motten rock/glass/ash and the atmosphere around him/her was superheated.
And a lot of the big ships have lots of fire-linked weapons. So let's say that they had a special "Glass the Planet" mode so that they didn't overlap. with 8 seperately targeting Masers, you can get almost 30% of a square mile every 6 seconds. 1033 square miles an hour.Think of it as if the ships were "mowing the lawn of the planet." It might take a while, but it will happen. Actually it would take 1 ship that is able to fire 8 seperate areas 282.4 WEEKS to burn Earth (but that includes blazing over the oceans).
282.4 weeks seems like a long time. Even with 10 ships doing it, it would still take 198 days!
So, I'm thinking I will definitely have to make it a plot device, maybe requiring 5 or 6 days to "cleanse" a planet.
I saw another thread recently about whether or not orbital bombardment would even work, and there was something mentioned about ICBMs and such. I'm not an astrophysicist (I'm just a dumb law enforcement person) so I don't really know if it's feasible or not.
The easiest way to do planetary bombardment is to play it out like a space battle
I disagree... as noted earlier, plot device is much easier. No rolls, just description. And little (if any) arguing if there are no rolls to argue over. Much easier.
As for tactics for making a planet uninhabitable, it might be easier to drop enough nuclear weapons from orbit to induce nuclear winter, then move on. For increased effectiveness, aim at large cities. Bioweapons might work, too, if you could build something that would affect all life on the planet (maybe something that attacks and damages the structure of the DNA), though it would also leave the planet open to later rehabitation... or you use an alien technology unknown to man: the Plot Device.
FYI: among 8 Stranos Cruisers (which I forgot to give 2 sets of autofire masers to) and 2 Super Cruisers there are supposed to be 96 autofire masers.
The Surface Area of Earth is 4*pi*(3949.901 mi * 5280 ft/mi)^2 = 5.47*10^15 sq. ft.
So with 96 1000 ft * 1000 ft autofires, you need 56934943.94 rounds to blast every bit of the surface. So technically (I was wrong before) it would take like 10.8 years to blaze everything. I might have to use Interceptors and Escorts to speed up the process. Each interceptor will be modified to have an autofire maser and each escort to have two. That gives 640 more guns (they won't be split since they are fighter-fielded) from the Interceptor and another 512 from the escorts (which will unlink). That is total of 1248 area attacks from autofires. That takes it down to like 304.14 days.
So yeah, by sticking to realism, I would bone the story. So I decided on plot device.
Let's say that high yield planet killer warheads have a 10 mile blast radius (about 314 sq miles). You would still need 624069 warheads to hit every square inch of Earth. Of course that also assumes you didn't have to overlap area (blasts are round), so you would have to calculate the "square" in the circle (it is easy though, but it is only 200 sq miles). Or like 980,285 warheads. Almost 1 million missiles are needed to coat every inch of Earth. But that also assumes a flat planet. That's why I didn't use missiles.
Also I decided that travel for humans between colonies takes days. While in-system travel can takes hours to days depending on distance and the size of ship (bigger ships can manage more sustained thrust because of fuel capacity restrictions, so they can go "faster").
An example of this was a sentence I took out of Drake on Fire chapter 1 (I didn't want to talk for the PCs and I didn't want ordinaries on the PC's team):
"Why the hell do they send a f-king hopper? They could get a cruiser, or even a lancer out there in eight hours! But now we have to spend two freakin' days on this stinky barge."
"You better check what you are calling a 'barge' or you are gonna be walking," an offened co-pilot scowled.
Ant traps work because the ants aren't smart enough to realize they are bringing poison back (they don't sample the good before bringing food in). The Xenos though want to spread, so just killing the non-Xenos just forces them to travel.
Side note, the Xenos are immune to radiation.
FOld drive Pl8
the fold drive is compressed of three elemenst. A quantum generator. A dimesional drive, and a spatial drive. the drive able to fold space (a little different from dune) by creating a dimetion v like plane piont A on one side point be on the other point c is the bottom of the v. When the drive activaes it basically fold the V together so the ship exsists in point a and point b at the same time. then it unfold leaveing the ship at point b. the fold happenes so fast that even before one can blink the ship travelled. With the quantum generator some think that the fold drive can not only fold space and dimension but time itself to.
the safty point of the drive is that you done have to worry about defelctor feilds, you dont have to worry about accidently flying through a spacial annomaly. And it can be used in battle to make small fold jumps to confuse the enemy. The bad part is you dont want your enemies to get it cause it has the ability ti fold time as weel as space.
Drake on Fire
The Stranos have killed several system colonies already, Drake Colony is next.
Chapter 1 - Listening to Station 14
Listening Station 14 has gone silent. Stations 15 and 7 confirm that it is still there, but they have yet to raise them on point comms. Drake System needs every station scanning for the Stranos in case they swing our direction. I hope your team likes each other, because it is a two days ride out to Station 14.
Chapter 2 - Stowaways
Having rescued the surviving crewmen from Station 14's fate, you arrive back to Drake Major on that crowded hopper. The whole colony is in a panic trying to evacuate on too few ships. When things look like they can't get worse, people start turning up dead, the Stranos must've landed on the colony. Things are playing out just like the other colonies.
Chapter 3 - Possession is Nine-Tenths the Law
While Stranos and UA forces battle for the orbits, the UA is just evacuating "High Priority Persons" through hoppers. If Drake Colony is to survive, someone needs to commandeer a troop transport and land it on Drake Major.
Chapter 4 - In For a Penny
Time to get these civilians out of harms way. But you must protect the transports from the strange bioweapons of the Stranos. Equally dangerous are the mobs of civilians trying to board.
Refugee
Drake Major is dead, but Drake Colony lives on. The Stranos have similarly vanished again with no retaliations.
Chapter 1 - In For a Pound
Stealing from the UA is a capital offense. The UA is not going to take this lying down. While the UA has forgiven the refugees of Drake Colony, the surviving militia are charged with capital crimes.
Chapter 2 - Raise the Flag
The militia can't stay with the colony, it's as simple as that. It's time for a new home. A new cause.
Chapter 3 - Wyvern *working name*
As I write the adventures I am making them into PDFs, I am looking for a place to publish them online (deciding whether to make them free or like $5 for a story arc).
But you are right, I should rephrase that for clarity.
The thing that scare the Xenos has already demonstrated the ability to travel through space (if slowly). So just smoking them off a planet (by poisoning it) doesn't solve the problem, if anything it makes it worse since it could split the infestation as whales carry Xenos in different directions.
Ant traps work because the ants aren't smart enough to realize they are bringing poison back (they don't sample the good before bringing food in). The Xenos though want to spread, so just killing the non-Xenos just forces them to travel.
Side note, the Xenos are immune to radiation.
Hmmm... maybe the Stranos need to develop a way to keep the Xenos from getting offplanet post-bombardment? Otherwise, won't the Xenos try to escape *during* bombardment? Maybe the Stranos send down their "SEALs" to covertly disable the Whales first?
What!? IMMUNE to radiation? Dangit.
Maybe not an issue due to nuclear winter and radiation killing off all *other* life, leaving no food source, coupled with the previously mentioned stranding.I like the adventure seeds. I could see some political tension being involved as the UA rescuers fight it out with the militia *and* Drake colony's political leaders over who, exactly, is in charge.
But let's put this in order.
-Stranos track Xenos to colony Y.
-Stranos go to Y to purge the Xenos.
-Stranos arrive and are attacked by militia, Stranos have to deal with militia (disabling them isn't a solution because they will just be there and who knows who might be infected onboard).
-Stranos start to purge Y. Killing colonists and Xenos
-UA patrol is dispatched starts heading over. Stranos detect UA on the move.
-Stranos finish job before or as UA arrives.
The Stranos don't want to fight the UA, the UA would win in a straight up fight. They have more guns and a much larger population. The Stranos just aren't expansionists. They just don't want to bother with other people, that is why they don't talk. Is that unrealistic?
I believe that if we met aliens [that are more advanced technologically than us] in real life and they gave us a chance to talk to them, we would never shut up and ask them to advance our technology to their level.
I was thinking of having Story Arc 2 be exactly that a chance for human internal affairs.
Edit: I suppose in real life, the Stranos probably would've explained that an hositle life form contaminated their culture and try to cooperate with the UA to deal with the Xenos, but that doesn't make a good story.
Edit: I suppose in real life, the Stranos probably would've explained that an hositle life form contaminated their culture and try to cooperate with the UA to deal with the Xenos, but that doesn't make a good story.
It could if the Stranos aren't telling the UA everything they know (the Xenos are a failed Stranos bioweapon that escaped and now the Stranos are trying to correct their mistake before it 'sterilizes' the galaxy....).
Also, if you look at the Xenos Infected template, it just does -4 Int, -4 Cha and doesn't effect skill points previously acquired. So Xenos infected crews could pilot ships whose cargo holds are filled with plague swarms. I think I am going to have to come up rules for resisting the Xenos (maybe Will save DC 15 once per day, and once you fail you are in).
If it's radio signals that draw the whales to planetary bodies, you might want to give them an extraordinary ability to detect/sense radio and/or microwave signals, or maybe all EM radiation outside of the visual light spectrum.
Good idea with the plague ships.
Of course, if you give them an increased ability to "see" radio, UV, etc, you could also add a hidden weakness to such things; too much of that energy could overload their sensory organs. Sorta like staring into the sun does to us. Or flashbang grenades.
Yeah, no save PC-killing is usually a bad idea... then again, if they did something stupid to get themselves into it, it would be "justifiable homicide".
Are you talking about the Plague Swarms infecting someone? There are 7 days to do Surgery to remove the implanted bugs, also there is an initial save to avoid getting implanted.
Of course, if you give them an increased ability to "see" radio, UV, etc, you could also add a hidden weakness to such things; too much of that energy could overload their sensory organs. Sorta like staring into the sun does to us. Or flashbang grenades.
Only the whales can sense radio. So yeah, I suppose you could put two ships on either side of a whale and have them both broadcast to confuse it. But whales aren't combat things. Their slam is just to penetrate, and they seal the breech afterwards to maintain the internal environment.
Or you build a radio-frequency laser...
(and actually, I didn't realize that that was what maser stood for... makes sense, though).
I view the glassing a planet sort of as a coup d'grace. Only you can't even attempt it during combat.
Only if it was in the microwave range. Which would be possible, but not necessarily the case, as the microwave spectrum is only a part of the radio spectrum.
(and actually, I didn't realize that that was what maser stood for... makes sense, though).
True, but raser is just stupid. :P
Specific Things you might want to Borrow:
- The basic swarmer units were called "Helions". Might be an improvement over Dog.
- The Overlord-style units controlled the lesser members of the hive using clouds of pheramones that were referred to as its Miasma. This was not only good from a realism perspective (although telepathy works too, you'd think that mindless drones wouldn't make very good psychics) but the Miasma also acted to blind, confuse or poison humans.
- There were an interesting variety of bio-weapons that the Kryomek used against the humans, which helps add variety to the standard "zerg" style armory. Some of the sites still selling the figures describe their armaments, and the names are enough to go on for inspiration.
- Rules for how the drones acted when they were cut off from the overall chain of command. Some of the mighty warbeasts would withdraw into their armored carapaces (turtle-style) if they took too much damage and there were no Overlords around to give them orders.
Oh yeah, this is unrelated, but in the old computer game Masters of Orion 2, there was an event where a giant space amoeba would attack one of your planets. If you lost, you got to see a video of the planet being digested by the ameoba. Although this is probably not the scale that your "whales" come in, it might be an interesting idea for dealing with paricularly troublesome space stations.
But while the virus does "dumb" down a person, it doesn't make them mindless. So I guess the virus could just give group organization to a species. Now an infected human with enough Intelligence remaining might be able to tell the difference, perhaps direct nearby Xenos.
In the Zombie Survival Guide, it talks about Zombies moaning when they see food (which attracts the attention of other Zombies which also moan and take off towards the source), similar to how routers in a network learn about each other. So signals would ripple through a population of Xenos. Like if one Dog saw (smelled) a non-Xenos, it would set off an Enemy/Attack signal, which would alert nearby ones which continue to propetuate the signal.
One last thing: are the CRs adjusted for some sort of Uber-PC group? Because a level two character who gets hit by both Warrior claws (not an unlikely event given +8 attack mods) will take 4D8+10 damage+poison. That's enough to total almost any build in a single round! I'd say CR 4 might make more sense. Oh and I seriously vote for hellions instead of Dogs. Will look much better and given the Viscious flank trait it seems appropriate.
edit: Pheramones are also extremely dependent on atmospheric conditions (although they can probably be "shot" via different methods if necessary). This raises interesting questions for airless worlds and boarding actions, since Xenos might have to be sent in "preprogrammed" for their tasks, which makes it more difficult for them to adjust to changing conditions. The other interesting implication is for the Stranos, since burning off the atmosphere of a planet would make it extremely unattractive from a Xeno's point of view.
Why bother modifying the virus? Why not just replicate the pheramone in sprayers and just perfume yourself? If someone were to capture live Xenos, you could possibly harvest it from them.
Pheramone sprays aren't as exciting, imho. And maybe you could justify the riskier route by saying the pheramones can't be synthesized outside of a living body. Kind of like the trouble they've had synthesizing spider silk in the real world.
Didn't they modify goats to do this?
The virus idea was mostly to add excitement and tension to an adventure, you could always have the spray get discovered later (understanding the virus well enough to modify it would probably preceed understanding it well enough to make a spray).
Modifying a virus is REALLY hard.
But copying pheromones is relatively easy in comparison. You can now buy 4 ounces of human male pheromones for $33.00 (that is enough for like 6-9 months of daily use).
And since just synthesizing the pheromone has no chance of infection (unless prolonged exposure is what causes the infection *cue dramatic music*).
Devotees of the Xenos might crop up as infected people disperse. But infected don't exactly look normal.
Interpol: The miasma thing reminds me of the yuan-ti smoke... don't know the actual name, but the rules for it could be stolen.
Also if you are still there could you direct me to the handful of modules/short adventures you wrote up please?
Were they really that long? I think I only actually wrote up one, but I do believe I wrote up summaries for the first 10 or so chapters.
PM me an e-mail address and I can send you everything I have as a .zip file.
Edit: The Phantoms are 36 feet long. I think you looked at their tactical speed (3,500 ft?).