Module C7: Forgotten Empires
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battles: New Product Development:
Module C7: Forgotten Empires
This possible future product might include "full scale" write-ups of the, Peladine, Borak, and possibly other extinct races (such as the Juggernaut race).
This topic is a place to collect notes and suggestions on what races to include. It is not a place to propose an entirely new race but if you want to remind us of one we forgot, go ahead.
The problem is there there really isn't a lot of material that needs to be added to the already published E Modules.
Apologies in advance if any of the below totals are in error.
For comparison's sake, Module C6 has 137 pages' worth of SSDs: 67 for the Paravians and 70 for the Carnivons. All of those ships are "modern", i.e. of GURPS Prime Directive Tech Level 12 standards.
As noted here, the Borak in Module E3 have 75 SSDs: 44 for "modern" ships, 4 for L-type hulls, 7 for general units, 7 for Early Years vessels, 3 for first-generation X-ships, 8 for attrition units (fighters and PFs), and 1 for a playtest Borak tournament cruiser.
As noted here, the Peladine in Module E4 have 70 SSDs; 53 for "modern" units, 1 for an Early Years vessel, 4 for first-generation X-ships, 11 for attrition units (fighters and PFs), and 1 for a playtest Peladine tournament cruiser.
So, that would be a total of 145 SSDs; 8 more than in Module C6 itself...
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Of those, I wonder if the pair of TCs could perhaps be extracted and placed (at least on the "unsanctioned" list) on the relevant portion of the ADB website. That would bring the total down to 143.
From there, it might be a question of balance. Either there ought to be room for both empires to get the same type of units (be it general units, L-era ships, or whatnot), or perhaps such unit categories could be taken out and held in reserve for some other product.
Personally, I wouldn't mind if the general units and the L-era hulls were kept to the side for now (which, if the TCs were taken out also, would bring the SSD total down to 132). The space "freed up" could be used to add a battleship for the Borak, plus a few more first-generation X-ships for each empire - such as a pair of X-PFTs, to support RTN-hunting.
If even that is too high a number, perhaps the Early Years ships could be transferred to the proposed Module Y4, which would clear up another 8 SSD slots.
In a similar vein, if the X-ships had to be removed also, could there be a place for them in the proposed Module X1B, or perhaps in some other venue?
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In the long run, perhaps it might be necessary to match the unit types being offered to the "lost empires" of Module C6; a later "support" product could then offer general units, L-ships, and other such items for all four of the Module C6 and Module C7 empires.
Of course, I defer to ADB in terms of what the best way forward should be.
Gary, I'd also love to see the Peladine and Borak expanded as a possible Module C7. But respectfully, I don't see our friends at ADB, Inc. repackaging E3 and E4 JUST to put a "New" product out; if they include the Borak and Peladine in a Module C7, they WILL add a lot of new material to it.
At least that's what I think because they've done it before.
I had, a LOOOONNG time ago, modules E1 and E2; FRAX and Marines. FRAX had a LOT added to it and became Module C4. Marines had a LOT added to it and became Module M.
As to what all might be added to a potential future Module C7, I can't even guess.
(However, there ARE things I hope to see; Juggernaught Empire ships fully detailed, Nicozians developed more than the four preview ships, or possibly even more work done for Fralli ships!)
(Okay, maybe not the Fralli; nobody WANTS to see Fralli... 
)
Except maybe the Medusans ... (Yea, classic Trek) ...
What about pairing up the Borak with, say, the Nicozians in one module, and the Peladine with the Juggernauts in another? Then there'd be space to add some more X-ships, etc. to the Borak/Peladine, and the further development of the Nicozians/Juggernauts would be a further inducement for long-time fans to pick up the pair of C7 modules.
With 80-ish SSDs each for Borak/Peladine, plus 20-30 SSDs each for Nicozians/Juggernauts, that'd be two reasonably-sized modules rather than one overly gigantic one. Seems preferable IMO for the Borak/Peladine to have room to grow, rather than having to offload things to other modules.
Speaking of X-ships, I think the Carnivons and Paravians need theirs, if memory serves.
I'd certainly like to see a Juggernaut Empire-themed module, but I'm not sure I'd want to see them spliced in to a product with one or more of the "forgotten" Alpha Octant species. Rather, for what (little) it's worth, I'd prefer them be presented in a dedicated, stand-alone threat file; that could more easily enable them to be "plugged in" to whichever setting - be it Alpha, Omega, the LMC, Triangulum, and/or M81 - a given player group wished to throw them at.
But then, the Andromedans are a major factor in both Omega and the LMC, and they are presented in an SFB module they share with the ISC and Neo-Tholians, so...
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Also, for anyone who has yet to see them, there is a variety of Borak miniatures over on the Shapeways storefront. As with certain miniatures for the Worb Technocracy over in the Omega Octant, the relevant Borak miniatures have separate turrets which can be placed at whichever facing might be required during the course of a given battle.
There is also a Peladine presence on Shapeways, as well as a range of Juggernaut Empire minis, for those so interested.
I fully sympathise with your POV, Gary. I was just trying to think of ways in which the Borak/Peladine could be presented in an expanded format, rather than putting them together and having to potentially splice out ships from E3/E4 to go elsewhere.
Since the C-module series very often includes multiple empires in a product, and the Juggernauts/Nicozians both need further development and would be welcomed by long-time fans, it seemed like one potentially fruitful way to go. As you mention, the Andros have a prominent role in the setting but their first appearance is in C2, so there's precedent for this kind of thing.
I assumed as well that folding in the Juggs/Nicozians into other modules would reduce the product development workload, as compared to fully fleshing them out into separate standalone products. Hopefully that would make it possible for us to get some Jugg/Nicozian stuff sooner rather than later, with room for future expansion in later products.
Re: Carnivon/Paravian X-ships -- I believe those are being discussed in the C6R topic, which incidentally I am very excited about. C6 was a great module.
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But then, the Andromedans are a major factor in both Omega and the LMC, and they are presented in an SFB module they share with the ISC and Neo-Tholians, so...
Do keep in mind that when the Andromedans were presented with the ISC and Neo-Tholians, Omega and the LMC (and all other extra-galactic settings) didn't exist yet. Had they known those settings would appear, they might have presented them differently.
On the other hand, the Neo-Tholians were also the introduction of the first extra-galactic setting on their own (whether they knew it at the time or not), so there's that, too.