High Guard worth it?

[Blustar15]

Hey guys,

Just wondering what you thought about the High Guard book. I'm definitely getting Scout but can I skip HG?

Does it have a better or different space combat than the core book? Or is it mainly a careers book, constructing ships ( I have no interest in doing), etc type of thing.

Have you heard if Project Steel is any good? I've been going through Type-S module by the same company and it's not to bad but can't find any reviews on Project Steel.


I'm trying to set up a Scout campaign, as close as I can get to Star Trek I suppose, where they have to survey/explore as they go. What company/government would hire freelance explorers traders or whatever?

thanks

 

[robject]

Well, Star Trek characters are quite often more like Naval characters than Scout characters.

I know you're not a ship designer, but even so, it's a reference for the expanded list of weapons and sensors (for example), and also has a system for describing smallcraft.

re Project Steel: anything written by MJD is worth it, in my opinion.

What company/government would hire freelance explorers traders or whatever?

In general? I'd approach it from either a background or a plot-hook angle:

A company that
* has a big problem and needs patsies to clean it up
* has a manpower shortage due to recent disasters
* received a windfall (budget or area of space or discovery) and is trying to exploit it as fast as it can
* doesn't trust its own exploration division
* is just starting to build an exploration division

Better than a faceless "company" is a Factor - a business agent who has a stack of odd jobs of the same kind as above. Give him a name and let him be sort-of helpful -- after all, handing out jobs can be a good thing, even if the jobs are difficult. Reveal his background only if there's a plot to develop.

So then, use a company like "InStarSpec" or "Weyland-Utani", establish a Factor who works for them, and have him be the point of contact. He offers tasks, goals, checklists, whatever, and the players run off to complete them for payment.

OR, if this is a Star-Trek setting, the "Factor" is the "Starfleet Liaison in Extra-Departmental Affairs" or something vague and bureaucratic-sounding.

 

[Ran]

Is high guard worth it?

-Yes, its one of the better supplements. It's relatively free of most of the Mongoose "LOL Quality:rofl:" issues.

 

[spinwardpirate]

I own both, and I'm surprised to say I like High Guard much more than Scout. There's something about Scout that just didn't click for me. I can't put my finger on it... maybe, scouts being my favorite career, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

 

[sabredog]

Hey guys,

What company/government would hire freelance explorers traders or whatever?

The company might want people who know the local area or locals well so they can act as a go-between to smooth relations for opening new trade markets and routes.

The players might be people who have the reputation of "getting things done" in some manner or another and the company might not have the right resources in place so they need to sub-contract.

The company might be using a cheap shotgun approach to exploring an new region with a lot of cheap subcontractors. Everybody who wants to get in on the ground floor of new markets and profits signs on as a freelance explorer and gets rewarded for what they find and bring back. The ones who don't, well, they didn't cost much to begin with.

 

[ThunderChilde]

I own both, and I'm surprised to say I like High Guard much more than Scout. There's something about Scout that just didn't click for me. I can't put my finger on it... maybe, scouts being my favorite career, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Agreed, Scouts chargen leaves me wanting an intercranial scrub down.

High Gaurd is a near essential, full of goodies that seemlessly fold into MGT/MB ship construction, and include a group of vessels your players would probably see around them in civilised and rim systems.

Also look at traders and gun boats.

 

[spinwardpirate]

Also look at traders and gun boats.

You know, of the MGT books I have thus far, that may be my favorite. It's a great book to fan the inspirational fires.