Prepping for the Table: Star Tracks 2025-? (second page)

 

A bit about the crew of U5S vessel the Pacific.

Uniform's color indicate job as well as status. 
Shirts and pants VS Coveralls
Coveralls are enlisted with bands of color indicating their specialty areas. Plain gray coveralls are drafted personnel.

United Star Systems Space Service Uniform  Classifications
Golden-green- Command level
Red- Engineering and tactically-trained personnel
Baby blue- Scientist level
Gold- Tactically-trained and in line for command positions. They though are not science trained and must have a Scientist confirm any decision that they make in the course of a mission.
White- Science and technically-trained personnel
Green- Specialized technology technicians.
Orange- Tactical combat and weaponry-trained personnel

Prepping for the Table: Star Tracks 2025-? (first page)

 

All these star systems to be explored before Tales of the Arcadia starts again

At first I wasn't sure anyone wanted to even bother, now the slots are full and two others had to be turned away. Sorry folks, but five slots are all that I can handle online; and, to answer an emailed question, no I will not be running any Spacers at GenCon 2025-- see you at the Wobble session though. 

"Star Tracks"
All the PCs must be rolled up using the Spacers: 180° rules. Everybody playing already has them so no hyperlink to boost sales. The psychic stuff can wait until the first session. NO MECHANICAL INTELLIGENCE are eligible for psychic powers (Ben). 

Background 
Set from the Star Trek (tOS) movies to around the ending seasons of 'the Next Generation. So, while Star Tracks is not Star Trek Players can play members of the species, loosely stated, from the following list:

Andorian- (andorian)
Bajoran- Glorp Blort 6
Cardassian- Kodoan
Ferengi- Floda
Human- Human
Klingon- Rekki
Kzinti- Togaat
Mechanical Intelligence
   (NO BORG)
Nautsicaan- (nuatsicaan) 
Orion- Kaalish
Romulan- Kaalish
Suliban- Swah
Tellarite- subBerger 8
Trill
    (Must be mixed with one of the listed species here)
Vulcan- Kaalish
Xindi
   Hyboreal- Lam 
   Insectoid- Bugg
           PYD- D8 
   Aquatic- Spranger
   Reptilian- Ramo
   Human-like- 
   Avian- Soat

Sadly, they will have actual names from my Spacers species list. I'll be finding which of my species fit which of the list here this weekend. 

Interstellar nations that are featured:

United Star Systems Alliance (USSA)- Hawaii, Earth is where the politicians forming this faction meet.

the Corridor- Klingon, Romulan, Suliban, Xindi, and Cardassian worlds that were once competing empires. Defeated, to varying degrees, by the USSA and the USR during the Corridor Wars, they don't mind being sites where tourism adds a lot to their local economies. These individual factions do have interstellar ambitions still. 

Uniform Subjugated Regions (USR)- Totalitarian cliques of Cardassian-styled kodoans and regressive Kaalish power mongers control these worlds.

Totally a homage.

Everytime at the Table: Spacers 180° 'Downhome Mars'

 I jokingly told Peryton that if showed for the Spacers season finale I'd give her 50$, but minus 10 bucks for every hour that she was late. Well she showed up at 9:45, the session started at 9:30. Damn I guess I owe her $50 now. 

Alezander's mother explaining to him that most Martians are clones these days.

Cut to the alien Odo Maximus working out in an area of The Arcardia's cargo bays that he set up a gym in. Nextremi 37 has promised to stay in her room and told him that he should work out while she rests, for her better protection. After the physical training, the Crig hears about her leaving the ship with her boyfriend... 

So The Arcadia and its shifting and growing crew has finally showed up at Mars. Specifically, Krakatoa City (name thanks to Steven Miles Lewis of Austin, Texas) deep within the Gran Mariner canyons, on the west side. Its domed covering already sheltered by the martian landscape around it, is filled with water surrounding the living areas. It helps with solar radiation deflection, easy way to help with maintaining pressure, and it's pretty noticeable when the living areas have a leak. Most of this extremely salty water is frozen but around the city its very sea like-- bulked up "dolphins" (see Spacers:180° for species description) live and work in these parts. 

The Characters were Alezander Deju (Curtis), Steev Sagus (Ben), Odo Maximus (Brett), and Nextremi 37 (Robin). Ship-based NPCs include Gal Qixtar, Punches Pilot, Chief Bloom, Doctor Orlando, and, brought over from the Flash Gordan homage Sphere of Doom, Broomstick the bot. 

As The Arcadia is brought down onto the planet via a Pike space station's tether, everybody got to meet Alezander's mom, Othra Deju. After a few formalities, Othra got her med-bot X-40 "Knee Brace" to start treatment immediately on her son's Dulcina disease. This point in campaign was supposed to be the "Big Reveal" but by last session all the Players had figured it out; everybody is a clone. While Earth Central, with all its old-time religions and their regressive collective of Long Arm militants, has dictates against cloning and genetic alteration of the human species, about 40% of the Terran solar system are doing these things all the time.  
"How else does one fill up a galaxy?" She asked rhetorically then added the death blow. "I often wear wigs."

NPC Cut-Away: Seeing everyone else preoccupied watching Alezander having a snark fest with his Matron, Gal Qixtar slipped off and headed out of the Deju complex. He hailed a taxi and was taken to a complex of deserted warehouses. There he met his 7th Republic controller, Vanda Lixx, She being an Askode, sexy reptile humanoid with cobra manes instead of hair, could smell the Divvah better than he could anyone else. 

She demanded his  Interstellar FastTalk stick. Upon having it she snapped it into a massive machine that can only be described as a "faster than light frequency generator" (a FLAG). A holographic image showed three Panni battleships and a "harvester" platform rounding Earth's moon and bringing a mountain-sized asteroid into terminal orbit of the Terran System's mother planet's gravity well. These vessels being cloaked by the "faster than light frequencies" that they were generating. 

Gal Qixtar after a bit of dialogue (Me talking to Me) then pulled out his retro-engineered  Interstellar FastTalk to call upon the Close Orbit Commands of both Mars and Earth and warn them of impending strike about to happen. So instead of New England being removed from the map, the Panni bombing run, avoiding Earth's defense forces, adjusted towards north of Alaska, the northern coasts of Canada, then along the Hudson Bay and Baffin Island. 

Oh crap

Things would still be cataclysmic for Earth Central but not as much as Qixtar being shot through the chest by Vanda seeing his betrayal.

Back to the Game Being Played: As news of the asteroid bombardment on Earth's most northern latitudes began filling TV streams, it was Nextremi that noticed that Gal Qixtar had stepped out of the room. He, err it, seemed a bit preoccupied. An hour later, the Devvah had not returned, Steev Sagus found a piece of the Insurance Salesman's equipment left behind. With Alezander's Fix-It  Perk, the group was able to view Qixtar's "If you're watching this, I'm in trouble. ..." message. Stepping away from his Dulcina treatment, this would cost his health even if getting treated again soon, Alezander rallied everyone to find their missing companion. It wasn't long until they essentially traced Qixtar's cell phone.

Now the Player Just Ben was a bit besides himself finding Gal Qixtar near-dead. Besides me being a mean GM, like Ashoka and Sabine Wren in Star Wars: Rebels, the two Characters had never really spoken. Like a true champ, he assumed the role of Chief Bloom to express his emotions. Good thing the kind-of Engineer was there. As Knee Brace, the med-bot, shuttled the lizard hominid to a hospital, everyone noticed the the FLAG in the center of the scene. It took a bit of railroading but Alezander was able to contact Mars Close Orbit Command about the device. 

Using the FLAG, MCOC was able to send messages in real time as well as see through the Panni's space vessels cloaking frequencies. I then sped through the following months (Earth time), narrating the ending of the 812 War. So then I did a "90 Days Later" thing with the Characters. Every Player almost cried as Gal Qixtar was released from the hospital. 

I then worked through the PCs to ask where they were at and what they wanted to do next. Here's to the 2025-2026 season. 



  

Everytime at the Table: Spacers 180° 'Asteroid Fixes'

 Tales of the Arcadia "The Asteroid-End of the Solar System"

Well Robin (Peryton) had a date with Joe-Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail-Girl, but Ben (Just Ben), Curtis (Iron Curtis), and Brett (Kal Luin) wanted some Spacers last night. While the work week, over 36 hours!, has been tiring, I was glad by the end of the session that they insisted. The Characters were Alezander Deju, Odo Maximus, and Steev Sagus. 

The Arcadia accompanied the Hop model craft, Stardust to its base of origin SGS-7 grouping of asteroids. This being the homeland of Steev Sagus, the fourth son, and ninth child of an even dozen, of the Sagus Clan of Rix humans, we got to meet my cast of his family. Great-Shown (Sean for short) the fiefdom's Patron. Hilda-Mom, the Lady and mother. PedXing (the oldest brother), then One Stop (Steev's closest sibling), Phreddi (Steev's rival sibling) and a cast of dozens which I didn't give names to. Throughout the game, the player-group's NPCs, Nextremi 37, Gal Qixtar, Chief Bloom, and Doctor Orlando were in the mix. I think that all the NPCs, whether of note or not, were handled quite well as well by yours truly, ME. Too long an intro already, by the end of the scene, the PCs were shacked up in decent digs, if a bit chilly, and our Manatee-class spaceship was in a repair bay. A big social gathering at Dinner was twelve hours away.

Rix days are 30 hours long. 0600 being breakfast. 0900-1800 Work. 1900 Dinner. 2300-3000 Leisure. 0100-0530 Night shift. Our Spacers showed up at 0700 hours or there about-- I know, I rolled a D30. Now I had notes for the scenario filling up all 30 hours, but only four paths would be taken. My PCs did not disappoint. 

Steev would help form how a Space-Sage meditates. We played with the SHRUG mechanic.
Alezander got into some steam in the kitchen with an older man. 
Maximus refined his roll as kick-ass while being a babysitter. 

In short, boundaries are meant to be crossed. Alezander Deju would make out with Steev's father. Steevimussus "Steev" Sagus learned that his family were siding with the UK (the Panni) versus EARTH CENTRAL in this 812 War. Maximus would kick some ass, finally, after trying to follow Nextremi into bathing areas but not in a sexual way, getting everyone back to the Arcadia before the HULCHERs showed up.

The fourth path, ever forgotten player NPC Stewart Medium-Sized would use up all the hot water in The Arcadia during the events of play. He was "Shower-Bath-Shower"ing (See Cowboy Bebop).

A World a Week: Caught Up In It all

This is the starting point of my "World of Keen Excitement" world for my TOG D20 rules set, which has been at a standstill play-wise since before last year. At the same time I have typed over 15,ooo words of a story written set in the world. Taking a year, plus, this could turn into the first piece of not-RPG writing I get done since 'o8 or so. So let's talk about this spot in my head that gets typed up while so many of my worlds stay in head where I hash them out as relaxation technique-- yes. They put me to sleep. My WOKE world has me sitting up and typing pages, often before dawn, for some reason though. 

Disclaimer: My Woke is not our mas-media wokeness. Even before Lovecraft Country, I was aware of the African-American cultural phenomena of being woke. It was never about sexual ambiguity or tearing down tradition, I was about being aware that if you are different more than a lot of people will not like you.                           





Keen part one

So here is "Upstream" 
The Characters are from our world and usually start out someplace near Landing. This "patch" where houses, campers, cars, and even tents have fallen from out of the sky have turned into a community of its own. Many of the newcomers, throughout the decades, if not ages, have gone on from here and interacted with the self-named World of Keen Excitement around them, but most haven't. Fixing up their belongings, more than few have formed the community to instruct newcomers as well look for a way to get back from where they came. As time passes, the town has made things even more comfortable for themselves, despite internal divisions. The biggest factions are the typical capitalists of the "Ten Rent Association" and the often accused of subversive activities "The Welcoming Committee." 
Some though, usually born in Landing and not knowing the "Other Places," get caught up in the Excitement around them.

The "spot" of Trott is about half a mile higher in elevation than any part of the region around itself. Its steeper surroundings and harsh winters suits the more individualistic newcomers (and their kids) as opposed to climates  nearby. That means as opposed to the Excitement of It All or Landing, or the rest of the world beyond not to their liking. Trots of turkeys, vultures, and eagles tend to nest here in the warmer season each year, hence the name. 

So we have to discuss cob at this point. 
Cob is the product of trees that resemble stalks of corn. Its fruit grows in bundles that look like banana batches. Each of these cob are packed full of calories and very sweet in flavor. The stalks (trees) that provide them bloom repeated from late Spring until the first few days of Winter. The stalk as a vegetation seems to grow wildly without much prompting by local farmers. It is too good to be true.
And it is...
Those that eat a lot of cob tend to get bigger and stronger. Then their brains also shrink. They also die within a decade, not decades after maturing. 
A less harmful variant of con is manufactured by the Ogre-Spawn. This collection of ogres, she-Ogs, Og, and piltdowners controlled by an entity known as "the Ogre," sometimes just Ogre, produce "family-friendly cob." The edible products can be eaten while the side-effects are reduced drastically among its consumers by eating more. Effects on lifespan are not being studied too hard.

While Landing and Trott are where folks from Other Places and their descendants have congregated for centuries. Many descendants, as well more than a few Just-Arrived, folks have succumbed to the effects of cob-enriched diets and become brutes or tools of those that would exploit them. More than a few would be from Trott or Landing, scores more would be from the Excitement. These natives of All the Excitement have been "gob-smacked" to say the least, but not so awed as to begun to learn new things from the newcomers.

All the Excitement has lived in the World of Keen Excitement forever. Many can look human, but they are not for the most part. They, the Keen, have for most of their lives have not needed the extravagant items and materials of Other Places (Our World).  Seeing what "Newcomers" have brought with them though, they see no problems with bettering their own lots with those imported things.
This has lead to more than a bit exploitive exploration in these Upstream parts, Meaning the Natives (All the Excited) would form partnerships with the newcomers, especially the more cob-inundated and start to seek treasures to replicate parts of the Other Places. 

Digg is the new spot where All the Excitement pins it hopes and dreams on fixing everything that has led to lackluster performance in the World of Keen Excitement. It is overseen by the cob-fed, the Excited, and Hobs (hobgoblins not from 'Keen or Other Places), while being worked by enslaved beings.

The ten days-worth of travel locales that make up Dugg are abandoned strip mines and supporting facilities where All the Excitement feel that they have gotten their fill. Now mostly populated by the Cob-fed and a few newcomers, that while they are thriving like to raid each other. Only the "Main Roads" can be traveled with only a minimum of banditry.