What to do next?

[Stinger Six]

I've run two great 2300AD campaigns in the past year (catch the write-ups on RPG.net). I thought that perhaps after the last one, my itch would be satisfied and I'd be ready to put 2300AD back on the shelf for a while. Although I am indeed playing other games (Shadowrun, Burning Wheel), my urge to do still more 2300AD is still quite strong.

Here's what I'm percolating at the moment:

Military
Silent Running - Premise: PCs are the crew of a navy frigate (perhaps a Kennedy class missile cruiser or some sort of LRRP scout ship) on a long range reconnaissance patrol in Kafer space. Full on space battle action perhaps culminating in involvement at the Battle of Beowulf. Basically, take every excellent submarine movie you've seen (Das Boot in particular) and put it space. Those scenarios from Challenge could be mined for material here, but I'd take the emphasis off the wargame and put it on the crew relationships. This is the concept I'm hottest for right now.

Civilian
Redliners - Premise: PCs work for the Company (or for themselves), and the Company wants them to sort out some problems on one of their mining operations out in the colonies. Corporate espionage and techno thriller rolled into one. No black or white, just lots of shades of grey. God help me but I can't get Mission Impossible style mad-assed stunts, combined with some hardcore Metal Gear Solid-style scenarios out of my head for this one. I think I might have something...

Science/Exploration
The Searchers - Premise: PCs are homesteaders on 82 Eridani, and have to deal with rival colonists, internal conflicts, and bands of Eber nomads as they try to eke out a living on a frontier planet. Yah, my idea is to riff off the John Wayne classic. I love the setting presented in Ranger, but that adventure is a better story than it is a roleplaying adventure. So, cherry pick the best elements of that and mix in some Western tropes, plus a Middle Eastern influence, with aliens! This campaign concept in particular is growing in attraction for me.

So, if I shot these ideas past you, which would you choose (assuming we could play together) and what ideas could you add to the mix?

 

[Merxiless]

all of those are good.

I'd also consider an Earth 2300 - How have we changed / life in the future spec fiction style game. organlegging, some limited cyber, stuff like that

and I always like scouts style games.

or a ranger / patrol game catching criminals, a la bouny hunting / law enforcement.

lots of options, the beauty of sci fi.

 

[Droyne668]

So, if I shot these ideas past you, which would you choose (assuming we could play together) and what ideas could you add to the mix?

Definitely #4. I'm partial to 82 Eridani IV.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/9327/82eri.html

Best,
Will

 

[Higgipedia]

Redliners - Premise: PCs work for the Company (or for themselves), and the Company wants them to sort out some problems on one of their mining operations out in the colonies. Corporate espionage and techno thriller rolled into one. No black or white, just lots of shades of grey. God help me but I can't get Mission Impossible style mad-assed stunts, combined with some hardcore Metal Gear Solid-style scenarios out of my head for this one. I think I might have something...

I think this could be enhanced if you throw in some double blinds (who owns the company who owns you?) and conspiracies (but not ones that are as they appear...) and you could have an awesome time with this. Especially if the characters aren't "corporates" but find the deal they thought was too good to be true getting more and more rotten by the minute.

 

[Stinger Six]

I think this could be enhanced if you throw in some double blinds (who owns the company who owns you?) and conspiracies (but not ones that are as they appear...) and you could have an awesome time with this. Especially if the characters aren't "corporates" but find the deal they thought was too good to be true getting more and more rotten by the minute.

Oh hell yeah! I don't know where I'm going to find the time to run all three of these now! ;-)

 

[epicenter00]

You could combine the military and the civilian.

Perhaps they're mercs organized by some wealthy "new noble" from like the UK or France (you know, the sort of really gregarious and socialable guy but he's utterly ruthless when it comes to business, has ties to organized crime and so on - the kind of guy who's fair to the people who work for him, but you really don't want to cross him or hold out on him) on Earth who in talking with various wealthy refugees fleeing the Kafer conflict from the "lost worlds" realized there's a boatload of money (and more importantly - favors and influence) to be made in "retrievals" from the Kafer occupied worlds of stuff they had to leave behind.

So you could have lots of skulking around in a tiny, underarmed ship that is essentially not military trying desperately to avoid Kafer patrols in space and on the ground and trying to evade notice from military and civilian authorities.

In the most cynical vein (for that shades of gray) this would never be rescues of people, but instead would be things like art objects and similar material valuables. Like paintings left behind on various worlds, collections of rare coins, or perhaps a collection of vintage wines. Perhaps there's also things like industrial prototypes to be retrieved from the ruins of Kolonie Zwei, or pharmaceuticals from Kimanjano. I don't think it's really difficult to think of any number of things that could have been left behind.

Eventually the players would discover things like some of the stuff they're retrieving wasn't ever owned by the people they're retrieving them for. Perhaps someone covets some painting left behind by someone else and sees it has his (or her) opportunity take it away in the fog of war. Competitors stealing prototypes or research data. There could be speculators who are out and out just paying for retrieval of stuff they don't own to sell on 2300's version of eBay.

It would be important to give the members of the crew and the mercs some motivations beyond just cold-hearted profit motive, and I think you have a mix that could prove explosive when they're forced not to help people because to tip their hand would be to admit they're been looting on occupied worlds. You could have other complications like finding survivors whom they cannot carry along with their retrieved items. Or perhaps military intelligence officers who'll "wink" at their "privateering" if they'll just do a few things for them, on the side of course.

 

[Higgipedia]

Perhaps they're mercs organized by some wealthy "new noble" from like the UK or France (you know, the sort of really gregarious and socialable guy but he's utterly ruthless when it comes to business, has ties to organized crime and so on - the kind of guy who's fair to the people who work for him, but you really don't want to cross him or hold out on him) on Earth who in talking with various wealthy refugees fleeing the Kafer conflict from the "lost worlds" realized there's a boatload of money (and more importantly - favors and influence) to be made in "retrievals" from the Kafer occupied worlds of stuff they had to leave behind.

I like this... But you don't want to play the hand too quickly. He's probably on the level when it comes to 90% of these retrievals... Making a grand public show of returning them to the rightful owners... Or storing them "for safe keeping" in the Louvre... Of course, there might be some things that don't quite make it to where they are supposed to be...

It would be important to give the members of the crew and the mercs some motivations beyond just cold-hearted profit motive, and I think you have a mix that could prove explosive when they're forced not to help people because to tip their hand would be to admit they're been looting on occupied worlds. You could have other complications like finding survivors whom they cannot carry along with their retrieved items. Or perhaps military intelligence officers who'll "wink" at their "privateering" if they'll just do a few things for them, on the side of course.

And I think that's why it needs to be played up early on for the good deeds. There should be very VERY subtle signs early that something is up, and as they get a good reputation, the noble will attempt to get the players involved in more and more... Of course, it will look like the PCs are totally complicit with all of this and just as much a part of the conspiracy as those who are manipulating them. So they have to start dodging those who are investigating the whole shebang and worrying about threats from the noble, the law, the victims...

Run it like a Cyberpunk/Warhammer GM and they will have to work their ASSES off to stay afloat and ahead of the game. Don't make it easy for them, that's for sure.

Damn. I kind of like this idea... Maybe I'll develop something myself. I certainly want to hear more...

(Oh, and the Louvre for safe keeping thing is sure to piss off the more Francophobe players. It was inspired by an adventure seed where the French took the US Flag from the moon and put it in the Louve as a "work of Human Cultural Art" and the PCs were US SOF troops who had to break into the Louvre to steal it back)