Christ Centered Gamer

I'm sure some you might know of some, but I'm not aware of a paper and pencil style campaign involving a crew of a starship instead of a party of heroes. So I was wondering if we could improvise/invent one ourselves.

Maybe stick closer to the style of the 1st and 2nd editions, relying more on the DM instead of a skill/feat system (and not bother with balancing that whole thing out). Combat would be rather different, because each individual crew member won't be taking hits and doing individual attacks. Instead, perhaps, each crew member would be responsible for a segment of the ship.

Instead of classes, you have positions. Captain. Navigator. Weapons. Communications. Engineering. Security. Gunner. Fighter Pilot. I'm not sure if it'd be better to have the positions more rigid, like in Star Trek, or have it a little more loose and free, like Firefly.

We could create our own IP ( I think it'd be better than trying to cater and fit into an existing one), or even imagine traditional fantasy in space (I suppose not too unlike WH40k, but of course, our own IP.

However, since I'm really just new to this whole thing and I'm just imagining an campaign, what do the rest of you think?
Would you like to play in this sort of campaign?
What would you like to see in it? (for whatever, settings, roles/classes, races, style)
For those more experienced with DnD, would this feasibly work?
Would you DM this?

This sounds very interesting.

ArchAngel wrote:However, since I'm really just new to this whole thing and I'm just imagining an campaign, what do the rest of you think?
Would you like to play in this sort of campaign?
What would you like to see in it? (for whatever, settings, roles/classes, races, style)
For those more experienced with DnD, would this feasibly work?
Would you DM this?

To answer your questions: Yes, I would play this.
A story that follows a crew into the unknown, the entire "Party" has to work together to actually fight, a la star trek starship battles, and I'm open as to the style.
Anything can work as long as any home-brew rules are clear, concise, and don't interfere with the basic rules.(Remember, DnD is just as much of making your own game, as it is providing you with one.)
If given the right notes, know the rules, and like the story, yes, yes I would.

I'd be willing to play or DM. Heck, I've even got several Space-based ideas hanging around in my head! If not DM, I'm sure I can design settings, classes, and whatnot.

I'm not entirely sure if a rules system exists, but we could always collaborate to get a system down, and playtest it with our campaigns to see what needs tweaking. Obviously, tweaks on the fly would be tricky, but doable.

As far as ideas go, I'm a fan of trying out some sort of hybridization. You have a position on the ship, but you can also wander the ship. So if a battle breaks out while you're in the mess hall, the attackers get a surprise round or two (Or more, depending on relative location) before the ship fully comes to alert. One thing you could spend skill points in (Or it could be a thing that just levels up with you; depends on how we handle this) is readiness, which determines how much of a jump surprise attackers get on you. Could even be a random roll.

Further, I think there might be a potential for both more excitement and more complexity if we decide to introduce an "Away mission" kind of concept. You could run into issues where certain party members (Such as engineers) aren't as effective on the ground as they are in space. This idea might be too complicated for now.


I also would love to see spaceports used as more than just towns. Like having to dock with one every so often to refuel, some groups only will negotiate on neutral ground, etc.


I'm not sure how we should handle aliens, or lack thereof. I could go either way, but aliens might necessitate some sort of racial feature system which could get complicated.



tl;dr: Heck yes I'm interested in this!

I'd be in

Sweet, glad to see you guys are interested.

Those are some good ideas, too, DF, and along the lines of what I was envisioning as well. I like the idea of your character living on the ship.
For this, I'm been leaning to more of a ragtag group of adventurers/mercenaries/pirates/freelancers. It can make ship living a little more dynamic, as well as the roles won't be as still. Maybe, for example, Terra and I both have skills in flight, so even though she is the main pilot, I can take over while she flies a sortie with a small interceptor or is busying fighting off a raiding party.

For a first run-through and testing of systems, that sounds excellent. I keep thinking of the crew of Serenity. XD

Yeah, right? We should totally model it after Firefly.

...I just started watching Firefly and I agree entirely

Welcome to the brotherhood.

ArchAngel wrote:Sweet, glad to see you guys are interested.

Those are some good ideas, too, DF, and along the lines of what I was envisioning as well. I like the idea of your character living on the ship.
For this, I'm been leaning to more of a ragtag group of adventurers/mercenaries/pirates/freelancers. It can make ship living a little more dynamic, as well as the roles won't be as still. Maybe, for example, Terra and I both have skills in flight, so even though she is the main pilot, I can take over while she flies a sortie with a small interceptor or is busying fighting off a raiding party.

I like where this is going...

Orodrist wrote:...I just started watching Firefly and I agree entirely

Maybe I should give it a shot, my dad's watching it as we type.....

Haha, my bad! Don't worry, you weren't making feminine posts or anything, I just assumed by your screenname that your name was Terra.

And watch Firefly. Honest to God, it's my favorite show of all time.

ArchAngel wrote:Haha, my bad! Don't worry, you weren't making feminine posts or anything, I just assumed by your screenname that your name was Terra.

And watch Firefly. Honest to God, it's my favorite show of all time.

No prob, I could see where that could happen, considering Final Fantasy 6. But Terra could be used for guys, like in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep.

I'll do that.

Reminds me of a game that existed a few (ok, more like 20) years ago called Start Trek Tactical Combat Simulator. It was 2 games in one; one was a starship to starship combat game similar to Starfleet Battles. The other was a bridge simulator where each player took a specific role like engines, navigation, deflector shields, weapons systems, captain, etc.

It wasn't a roleplaying game, but it sounds like some elements are similar...