Very good idea, Kurt! I have a Yahoo! Group devoted to FASA Trek, but it has evolved into an "all Trek gaming" group. I'll be sure to pass your group along to my members (400 strong!).

Lee

By Lee Wood (Fasafan) on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 11:56 am: Edit

Gary,

I've never been a big fan of "monster manuals" for Trek anyway. If individual creatures exist on individual planets, then the only way you'll encounter them is *if* you go to the native planet.

Other sourcebooks are a boon, though! Years ago, I bought every PD1 book I could to support my FASA Star Trek game. Adventures, sourcebooks...all of these things are what I LIVE for, lol!

I'd love to see PD20 Federation, PD20 Tholians, and some other sourcebooks. I'd gooble them up!

Lee

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Monday, July 30, 2007 - 12:48 pm: Edit

Lee,

we are working on them hard and your post is encuraging.

SVC: Please take note about Lee's statement regarding Adventures.

By Kurt McCoy (Sheliakbob) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 01:40 pm: Edit

I really miss the sample creatures and NPC's that were in the 1st ed PD. While a "Monster Manual" doesn't sound that useful, something with generic creatures like "noncoporeal energy being" or "group mind parasite" etc.

Type creatures that can be adjusted a little bit for any world are more useful than specific creatures found on one world. I know specifics can be used as "types", but the purist in me often makes me overlook that option, or just not like it.

...and, y'know, I miss the "Sex Wrestlers" from first edition too. I couldn't use them, since there are likely to be kids playing in the campaign I eventually get up and running. But I'd feel better knowing that they were there. Somewhere.
(the door opens and a hugely muscled seven foot woman steps through the door. "Welcome to Erotisia IV. Prepare for pain!"
in a stunned monotone, "Spock, HELP me Spock!"

By Kurt McCoy (Sheliakbob) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 01:44 pm: Edit

and...D20 THOLIANS! I've never quite taken to the extra-galactic origin of SFB's Tholians, matter of personal preferences there. But the Tholians were the first race I played back when the first SFB box edition came out. Played them steadily for years. Not well, but steadily. Used them in scenarios for FASATrek solely because I'd become attached to them from SFB.
They're..."different". Not just kitties or lizards or birds or doggies or whatever in space.

Please, sirs, gimme some Tholians! pleeeeez!

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 04:28 pm: Edit

Progess is being made. One section is awaiting a bit of ADB time but things will be coming together soon.


One thought about adventure packs might be to produce Planet or colony packs... or even star system packs. Each would have details on the star system, individual planets and colonies on those planets. Each would have a section about native life in the system. Each would be a base model for a particular type of colonized star system that with a few changes can represent many systems. I envision this as a book of 64 pages.

By Tony L Thomas (Scoutdad) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 09:29 pm: Edit

Lee:

...I'd gooble them up!...

Is "Gooble" some type of 23rd century search engine?

By Lee Wood (Fasafan) on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 11:19 am: Edit

Tony,

LOL! That is hilarious! Leave it to me to coin a new term, albeit a strange one!

Loren,

I'd "gooble" those system packs right up!

One thing that PD has going for it is that there is no other Star Trek RPG out there. That's obvious, though. As a Star Trek RPG "connoisseur", what blew me away with the current PD stuff is the cover art: the PD20 Core Rulebook and PD20 Klingons covers, for example, are just breathtaking: they are original pieces of art- something rare in published Trek gaming (at least since the demise of FASA's Trek license). Last Unicorn Games had at least one book with original cover art ("Among the Clans"), but Decipher fell into the "let's put a video still on the cover" trap. PD has had by far the best quality Trek gaming cover art ever.

The cover art really catches a Trek fan's eye. If that gets them to pick up the book, then what's inside will hook them. I've always been a fan of sourcebooks and sourcebooks can be enjoyed by those who play the game and those who don't.

Adventure "hooks" (kinda like the old "Amber Zone" from "Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society") would be PERFECT for inclusion in said sourcebooks, whatever they may be.

I think there may exist a unique opportunity here, too, in how Paramount has really dropped the ball with the Trek franchise. Most Trek fans I know have really disliked the last 10 to 15 years of Trek. A lot of folks long for the "good old" TOS days. The Star Fleet Battles universe has that flavor in spades and without all the baggage of "canon" Trek!

Lee

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 - 11:34 am: Edit

All good things to hear Lee.

By Donovan A Willett (Ravenhull) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 12:21 pm: Edit

Okay, I would search for this in the archives, but right now, my access is through my Palm via a cell phone...

What outside books do you need for PD20?

By Andy Palmer (Andypalmer) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 12:25 pm: Edit

Donovan. Players Handbook

By Patrick H. Dillman (Patrick) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 02:00 pm: Edit

DM's Guide if your going to game master.

Monster Manuel can come in handy, but really more for the Fantesy set.

By Patrick H. Dillman (Patrick) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 02:15 pm: Edit

---

Quote:

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 04:28 pm: Edit


Progess is being made. One section is awaiting a bit of ADB time but things will be coming together soon.


One thought about adventure packs might be to produce Planet or colony packs... or even star system packs. Each would have details on the star system, individual planets and colonies on those planets. Each would have a section about native life in the system. Each would be a base model for a particular type of colonized star system that with a few changes can represent many systems. I envision this as a book of 64 pages.

---

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 03:32 pm: Edit

Well, I can only propose but if you and other tell SVC you want them I'll bet he wouldn't be against it.

It really about lessening prep time. There was a time when I enjoyed taking hours and hours designing an adventure for D&D or setting up a SFB campaign but those days of endless free time are LONG gone. I'd much rather have a resource book that I could just adjust to base several adventures on but also it's nice to have something player become familiar with. A planet they like to return to and explore in deeper detail. Indeed, players could move from campaign to campaign and have at least a few consistant place they could go to. And yet planets are big enough to provide different adventure each visit so variation among GM's doesn't create inconsistancies.

What I'd like to know is if a single line of books could be done to provide data that in game engine independant. I'm sure that multi-engine books wouldn't work. A fine idea but getting multiple companies to agree might be a non-starter (but I'm no expert on that).

I would love to write such a book(s).

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 03:37 pm: Edit

The format I think could work would be:

Star system data (overall data and location)

planetary data

main planet focus data

Adventure seeds specific to this system.

Next star system... etc.

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 05:42 pm: Edit

Loren, the above list is pretty much waht we put in the sourcebooks like GK and GR already.

Or are you suggesting a new book -- a standalone product -- ATLAS OF THE SFU or something similar?

Certainly doable, but saleswise, I dunno.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 06:16 pm: Edit

Gary, pretty much. A book of planetary systems and that is exactly what the people here are saying they'd gobble up.

If it could be made system independant I think we could do a good product. However, what was done for GK and GR is not what I had in mind. I'd like to see something nicer and more explorative. I'm thinking five or six pages per system and a book for each empire.

Prime Directive:
Systems of the Federation
Stars of the Klingon Empire
Worlds of the Romulan Star Empire
The Gorn Confederate Worlds
Feline Worlds
Worlds from around the galaxy (Tholians and Hydrans and additional systems through uot the galaxy (a few exploration zone worlds?).

64 to 96 pages.

By Craig Tenhoff (Cktenhoff) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 07:41 pm: Edit

Actually, give how long it takes to put an adventure together, I'd suggest a book of mini-adventures.

I just picked up a D&D one that had twenty or so adventures in it (repackaged / reedit of the original $2-$3 mini adventures).

But again, how marketable it is would be the big question.

Unless of course, it was a cross between a planetary source book and an adventure book.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Monday, October 01, 2007 - 10:18 pm: Edit

Craig,

that's why I wanted to end each section with adventure seeds.

But yeah, we need some adventures for PD, if only to serve as a base model to get people understanding how to work with the SFU.

By Gary Plana (Garyplana) on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 - 11:12 am: Edit

Adventures are not a problem, I've got a million of them. Thousands, anyway.

But this is in the wrong topic, I'll start something in Adventures.

By Stuart Aston (Badger) on Sunday, December 30, 2007 - 06:05 pm: Edit

Seems to have been a long time since i posted on here. But has any progress been made on a consolidated errata for PDD20? When will it it be posted?

For the Title of of Modern version of the game ... I have to say I really don't care just make it soon

By Stuart Aston (Badger) on Wednesday, January 02, 2008 - 12:20 pm: Edit

ah found it "here"

http://www.starfleetgames.com/documents/PD20_Update_Sheet.pdf

By Andy Palmer (Andypalmer) on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 08:59 am: Edit

For what it's worth, I completely agree with and support SVCs decision to stick with 3.5 and not go down the 4.0 route.

I'm asking, but still haven't found someone in my extended gaming network who is even going to give it (4.0) a serious look.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:56 am: Edit

When Andy and I agree, mortal men tremble.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 12:06 pm: Edit

Anyone know what the major differences are?


I'm getting the feeling that D20 4.0 is an overtly blatant attempt to make everyone spend a bunch of money on a new system.