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Post by jackphoton on Jan 31, 2023 21:57:06 GMT -7
40 years ago this month, January 1983, FASA released Star Trek: The Roleplaying Game.
In celebration of the Anniversary, I've spent the last few months revising my 3rd Edition Framework House Rules.
Revised website and with all new contents. www.jackphoton.spaceJack Photon's 4.0th Fantaversary Revision Star Trek RPG House Rules (for use with FASA) is based on various feedback and some missed goals. I spent a few months revising my previous work 3rd Edition Framework rules which are fully compatible with this new 4.0th revision (and with standard 1st and 2nd edition). No rules have changed from 3rd to 4.0th, but some number ranges have seen tightening or loosening. Awards and Medals now has rank modifiers as Admirals and Warrant Officers should be more decorated than Ensigns or Petty Officers, for example. Added are some 60 pages of Stardate and other relevant magazine articles, added explanations, finalized Transporter and Tractor Beam Rules and so much more. The one thing not ready are the revised GM Screens, but they are essentially the same as previously released with new branding. Entirely new and maybe ready by the end of February is the first NPC Pack. Twenty, fully-rolled NPC's with extensive background notes to generate story ideas for your campaign. This one covers the Command Branch with a dash of Herbert. 2 Admirals 3 Commodores 5 Captains 3 Commanders 2 Lt. Cmdrs 4 Diplomats 1 Intelligence Officer Each subsequent NPC Pack: Science, Medical & Engineering will have similar contents to above, but swapping out Diplomats for 4 Bureaucrats or 4 Legal or 4 Analysts and always 1 INT officer. Additionally, Sec/Services, Citizens and Adversaries Packs will have similar contents. I may create some additional Packs such as a Science Lab Team, Medical Ward/Trauma Team, Engineering Team, etc. These would all be lower rank crew, Lt's to Enlisted. The idea is to allow any GM to instantly populate the top crew positions of any ship of any size or complement and with local base commanders and ship crews the PCs may interact with. I'll also be releasing the first new, 'For use with' FASA Trek game modules in 30yrs. Those are for later in 2023. Thank you for your interest. Live long and Prosper.
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Post by jackphoton on Jun 13, 2023 2:27:41 GMT -7
The file was done in April, but I'm only getting to it now. Direct link to the first of the new NPC packs. 20 pre-rolls, 2 Admirals, 3 Commos, 5 Capts, 3Cmdrs, 2 Lt Cmdrs, 4 diplomats 1 intelligence agent. 5 blank sets for your pencil to fill www.jackphoton.space/zips/40threvision/GM17_NPCPack_Command_Hi-Q_230415.zipNext up: Medical Pack> Facility Admins, Drs, LPNs, Lab techs
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Post by jackphoton on Jun 25, 2023 4:07:02 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Aug 6, 2023 16:42:06 GMT -7
Imminent release: S18, UFP Dossier Klingons comprises the SF INT Manual and Four Year War, minus all movie era references and imagery.
S19, UFP Dossier, Romulans comprises the SF INT Manual and Romulan War, minus almost nothing.
Sooner than later: S20, UFP Dossier, Orions, a simple re-pack of TOBoCK.
Later than Sooner, but still soon enough: GM19, NPC Pack:Medics, 4-page spread for each of 5 Admins, 5 Drs, 5 Nurses, 5 Lab Techs with 5 blank sets for you to fill.
End of Year goal: Book 4, Balance of Powers, reconciling 1st/2nd Ed Klingon character generation and equalizing Romulans and Orions into the mix, not forgetting Trader Captains.
Book 5, Memory Bank Beta, The Adversarial version of "Book 3, Memory Bank Alpha"; the Milieus of societal background information that makes a character.
Side Project: PhantForce Maybe by September the "Book of Finite Spells" will release, alphabetizing all 1stAD&D PH and UA spell lists with GA Spell Books and some Dragon misc. This is the third of the series of likely 10 or 12 books that recompiles all 1stEd AD&D into more logical tomes from the original books and articles scattered across 150 issues of Dragon magazine.
Next up in that series are the "Manuals of Monstrous Attentions", alphabetizing MM1 + MM2 + FF, spritzed with DMG and some Dragon sauce. First is the Complete listing as one release. Second is a curated selection of "the better monsters". Third is the chaff so no one complains I dropped so-and-so.
That is followed by the Extra-Planar Epistles, all Deities and extra-planar powers and creatures sorted into plane/alignment rather than mythos for easy finding. Good bad and indifferent volumes, including devils, demons, Modrons, Githyanki, ethereal, astral and all the other yappity-yaps. DDG, DMG, MoP, MM1, MM2, FF, Dragon. That's some spicy meatballs.
Lastly, whatever's left of the DMs Guide + UA and Dragon errata with smatters of DSG, WSG, MoP and whatever other leftovers don't fit elsewhere. The DMG has been getting plugged into other books as I go, so is slowly being stripped away.
I am committed to creating a new, 13x19 full-wrap cover painting styled in the tradition of the original AD&D books. Of the two complete so far, each was ~150 hours. On this third, the Book of Spells, I'm maybe half through and that is the major hold up at this point. The layout is done. I must scan and swap out the placeholder Greyhawk Adventures Spell books and decide to leave holes in the layout or plug them with all new art work. Otherwise, done.
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Post by jackphoton on Aug 9, 2023 14:18:46 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Aug 28, 2023 9:24:00 GMT -7
Jack Photon presents: GM19, NPC Pack: Medical DivisionTwenty Pre-Rolled NPC’s and five blanks to customize.
Five Administrators / Five Doctors Five Nurses / Five Lab Techs Throw those cardboard NPCs away! Bring your games to life with living NPC’s; each with important notes such as ‘that time when’ to give you story hooks and leads to explore with your players in your campaign. Now at the Internet Archive for preview and download:
And check this page for the full listing of available materials.
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Post by jackphoton on Oct 19, 2023 11:30:33 GMT -7
I've been diverted by some side projects but am getting back to Trek. Over the last few weeks I've thrown a few spare hours to rolling the next NPC Pack, Security and Services; featuring 10 Security personnel from Admiral to Lt. and ten Services from Admiral to Yeoman 3rd class.
The NPC Packs then finish off the primary run with 20 Scientists and then 20 Engineers for 100 fully-fleshed NPCs. After that, it's in to Citizens and adversaries. All told, there could be over 400 fleshed-out NPCs in the end. With Sec/Services, the total to date will be 60 done.
I have been stalling on Book 4 Adversaries. Klingons is a slog. I should skip to the Roms and Orions to get some easy stuff done. Reconciling Trader captains is going to be almost as bad as Klingons.
As to Traders, I'll be breaking out the economics into its own supplement as that is its own ball of wax that I was never able to wrap my head around. We'll see if it makes sense these days... That's all going into next year as we are late into October at this point of writing. Still, EOY goal is "Book 4 Balance of Powers" and GM21: Security/Services NPC Pack.
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Post by jackphoton on Oct 29, 2023 6:15:21 GMT -7
Book 4: Balance of PowersFeaturing Character Generation for: - Klingon Officers, Enlisted, Citizens
- Romulan Officers, Enlisted, Citizens
- Orions, Ruddy/Green, Grey, Green Slave
- KZinti Warriors and Telepaths
- Gorn
- Tholians
- Trader Captains/Merchant Princes
Penciled out are the basics so far of Klingons, Roms, KZin, Gorn, Tholians and Orions. Traders are back burner until the rest are done.
This is going to take several drafts. I'd like to be done by January, 2024 (2-3 months depending on how you count it).
The book will emulate Book 1 layout, but a little different.
FASA never created enlisted or citizen tables for Roms or Kliingons, but I should be able to extract them easily enough.
Klingons gets a couple new service divisions. Romulans are getting their own Herbert rules.
Orions. Ugh. So, i never read any of the Orions until now. I don't know where FASA was coming from with the Greys. I'd drop them personally, but the re-write effort doesn't balance with the result. It's easier to just ignore greys. We;ll see how that goes. As to the lesser powers. These should be fun to tackle! FASA and the show yield enough basics to add some more flesh to them.
I've been ruminating on Tholians from FASA and general lore and may have an interesting angle to add to it all.
The KZin have several sources to pull from and extrapolate a little further.
The Gorn -I'm going with the single, bloody-minded, lizard-brain, smash-until-it-fits ethic that FASA posited; separating Gorn by perhaps INT ratings into societal strata and functionary. The higher thinkers ascending to leadership with lessers falling to the menial work, engineer, services, etc. Are there offiers/enlisted? Maybe just highers and lowers is better... Do Gorn have a bureaucracy? A legal system? Interesting questions. What would a Gorn lawyer look like? (See present day Earth 2023, lolz)
Back to Klingons... With Starfleet, I balanced all the branch skills as everyone is in training for the same amount of time. I was going to do with that with Klingons, until I really read Klingon character generation more deeply. The show tells us the Klingons are poor and take what they need from those who can't keep it themselves. All the klingon money is going into the acquisition of territory, consequently 1st edition Solders have 315 skill points while Scientist get 140 for the same time spent. Iwas going to equalize the disparity until I thought on it.
Klingon Scientists and Doctors will spend the same time in school but get less than half the points of other branches, but that is because those schools are underfunded to send money to the military end of things. The skill disparity suddenly makes sense when looked at in financial/resource terms. Brawn conquers new territory while Brains take a back seat to holding the conquests together.
With Romulans, the skill points are already mostly equal. That was nice to see, not only as it's less work for me, but also reflects the societal attitude.
With Orions, I've only glanced and penciled basic notes. they are likely to see the least change. While I will re-writing most of Klingons and Roms, Orions will be seeing lots of cut and paste.
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Post by jackphoton on Nov 19, 2023 22:12:25 GMT -7
Am I internet-famous now? A couple hours ramble on AD&D and FASA Trek I did with "The Dungeon Delver" the other day.
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Post by jackphoton on Jan 30, 2024 19:44:45 GMT -7
Now available at the Internet Archive for preview and download. Book 4: Balance of Powersarchive.org/details/b-04-balanceof-powers-hi-q-240201Character generation for eight societies with 25 career paths plus Branch/Division specialties. All in first edition style! NEW! Gorn Warriors, Citizens and Traders NEW! K'Zin Warriors, Citizens, Telepaths and Traders NEW! Skorr Citizens and Traders NEW! Tholian Class 1, Drone NEW! Klingon Warrior, Rating, Citizen and Trader NEW! Romulan Warrior, N.C.O, Citizen and Trader NEW! Orion Career Assignment paths! NEW! Expanded Trader species and revised background paths. NEW! Per-Term Lifepath tables, family heredity and Purple Heart! NEW! 10 or so specialty Skills NEW! INTellect/Skill rating limits Klingons are re-balanced amongst themselves. Romulans are delineated neatly. Orions are fine-tuned and cleaned up. Trader Captains stirs 1e/2e into a smoother blend. Gorn, K'Zin and Tholians are entirely new. Skorr are borrowed from Stardate and Jack Photon's "Book 3: Memory Bank Alpha". 154 pages of pure, creative goodness! To savor that first-edition FASA flava, it's Jack Photon's 4.0th Fantaversary Revision. For more: jackphoton.space
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Post by trynda1701 on Jan 31, 2024 14:56:59 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Jan 31, 2024 21:10:55 GMT -7
Reading the posts again, October or so the focus began on Book 4. I finished mid-January with those last 3 weeks being the most intense effort.
The Companion, Book 5 containing all the societal background materials is underway and hoping for end of month so I can stardate it as 240229.05 on the cover.
Space Lanes is the last big piece of the FASA conversion. There are several other minor pieces as well.
1. TOS/TAS ship recognition
2. Era-appropriate upper limits on the ST Construction tables.
3. The Fantasimulations state that they cherry picked the Familiar Faces stats. The totals are outlandish in some cases and underwhelming in others with inconsistency throughout. I'm going to run them through my system, cheat them here or there to see what churns out.
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steve
Commander
Posts: 539
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Post by steve on Feb 1, 2024 13:02:58 GMT -7
Congrats on this huge endeavor. Although I have not read this revision thoroughly, I appreciate the amount of effort that it takes to create this Fan Rules revision.
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Post by jackphoton on Feb 2, 2024 1:29:20 GMT -7
Thanks kindly and the same can be said about your work demonstrated here as well.
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Post by jackphoton on Feb 26, 2024 12:48:12 GMT -7
Book 5: Memory Bank Omega now loading on your local computer at:
...With stops in Gorn space, Orions, Klingons, Romulans and the Triangle. All 'board!
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Post by jackphoton on Feb 28, 2024 18:47:52 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Mar 9, 2024 6:23:38 GMT -7
Announcing! Book 6: Entrepreneurs & Prospectors The Intra-Galactic Economy of Thieves, Swindlers, Con-men, Liars and Rogues Projected at 80 pages. A surprise to me as I thought I could squeeze all of TC&MP and SL into one release, but they must be two entities. Supplement 17: Space Lanes: A boiled-down reading of same, 56 pages.
Both pending release this month i think.
A cleaned-up original Space Lanes will also be available.
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Post by jackphoton on Mar 10, 2024 17:03:27 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Mar 17, 2024 22:09:02 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Apr 20, 2024 1:14:44 GMT -7
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Post by jackphoton on Apr 24, 2024 17:06:21 GMT -7
From the "Like I don't have enough projects already" department...
First was the NPC Roster allowing a GM to fill their own NPCs into a book format. Next was the NPC Pack containing twenty, 4-page, fully pre-rolled characters to drop into any campaign.
Now presenting the NPC Compendium, a sourcebook whose nearest allegory I can fathom is akin to the Battletech Wolf's Dragoons or Black Widow supplements.
The Jack Photon NPC Compendiums contain: - primary characters - secondary adversaries - relevant ship or base details - area of operations - goals, failures - general and personal histories - artwork - likely some more stuff
There are seven in the series. Each is a huge pile of work. Concept work is under way on several. Here is the working copy for commentary. A few need some work. Some need a lot of work. Others are good about as is.
GM40: NPC Compendium: Layhnyel’s Talons FRONT: Ripping the hearts out of the Orion Patriarchy. (Literally.) BACK: Take one-part escaped Green Orion Slave Woman, one splash swash-buckling Errol Flynn, stir in convict crew to pour ice over the Orion old boys club and shake their Finagle’s Follies ‘til the upper classes founder -whilst gigging ala’ Firefly to make ends meet in a 1960’s Star Trek galaxy. How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM41: NPC Compendium: Klake's Seven FRONT: Klingons for Peace (through destruction). Fighting the oppressive Empire. BACK: What could be more natural than peanut butter and chocolate? I give you Blake’s Seven, but Klingons! Even if you all know the shows verbatim, that’s no guarantee things go the same when role-playing games are concerned. Klingon Servalan and Travis? Bring it! How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM42: NPC Compendium: Warriors of Andor FRONT: Eridani Empire Forever! BACK: Starfleet’s Most Wanted. Vowing to die to the last before submitting to peaceful coexistence, the Warriors of Andor are FASA’s work (as extrapolated here). Waging terrorism across the Federation, the Warriors seek the re-establishment of their now-former Eridani Empire. How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM43: NPC Compendium:K'Zin Fleshers FRONT: Minions to the Highest and out for blood. BACK: While the Hegemony is well managed, the Highest of K’Zin still subverts Federation oversight with select crews. These rogue missions seek to steal what they can, enslave those they defeat and gather the finest of flesh as meat for the Highest’s dining tables. How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM44: NPC Compendium:Vulcan Delegations FRONT: Logic your way out of this one, math brains! BACK: “Vulcans. Never liked them much, myself. Cold-blooded critters. All of them.” -Lara, Galactic Tracker/Hunting Expert. Full Vulcans are exceptionally difficult to relate to for their lack of body language, facial or vocal expressions; whereas they are horrified by even the slightest of emotional displays by others. How does one cope? How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM45: NPC Compendium:Tellarites FRONT: Q: When can you trust a Tellarite? A: Does not compute. Norman, coordinate. BACK: Sneaky and not-so-sneaky, Honest and yet not at all. Tellarites are prolifigate profiteers and can be trusted only to put their personal interests before -and at the specific expense of- all others. Here’s a big ol’ pile of them for your players to deal with. How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM46: NPC Compendium:Psicieties FRONT: Pso PSorry. BACK: Being that we are both psionic, there’s no point writing. However, for those others who may wish to know a thing or two, here presented are several new initiates to the PSI Club for you to game out with your players. How? Read this Compendium to find out!
GM47: NPC Compendium:Campaign Sets FRONT: Sleeper-ship explorers. New galactic power. Triangular traitors. Mirror on the wall. BACK: Dreadnought-sleeper ship sent exploring a nearby galaxy. Miranda Class meets a new, minor power. Caught between the Triangle and a hard space. Dare to gaze on your fate in the Mirror, Mirror? How? Read this Compendium to find out!
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