Requiring some help

[coldwar]

I've been running a campaign for two of my mates over the past couple weeks. Now I am stuck in a rut so to speak due to my players actions. Nothing majorly bad on there part, plus also really bad luck with a misjump. So, now my campaign plan is in tatters. I've said that I will keep the game running, as they had enough credits to put a deposit on a small ship (150DTon, Jump-2 with 10 low berths and 39 tons for cargo. They preferred my own design over the great adventuring small ship the Scout as they preferred to do some trading)

The PC's are currently on Sograzung 2603 Lishun Sector. and have decided they will head Trailing slightly, likely towards The Julian Protectorate worlds.
I am clueless in what to make for the campaign plot, however they are wanted by the Imperium for destruction of property (A ship) and have a bounty on their heads. They also got fired by the Captain that had fired them, who fired them because all the trouble and bad image they would have given to the owning ships company, which is from the Imperium.
Note: One of the characters had a rival free trader captain, but the PC's ship is going to far out run that ship very quickly.

So I'm hoping some of you guys may have some ideas, pointer's for me to build up a new campaign plot. Also, does anyone know which race is prominent in the Julian Protectorate, and any possible information about those worlds, that can be passed to me without myself buying something.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[BytePro]

I've been running a campaign for two of my mates over the past couple weeks. Now I am stuck in a rut so to speak due to my players actions. Nothing majorly bad on there part, plus also really bad luck with a misjump. So, now my campaign plan is in tatters. ...

Huh?

You are the Ref - 'misjumps' and any other mechanical aspects of the game are entirely under your control. Not the dice. Not the rules.

Now, if the players aren't really interested in your 'planned campaign' then pitching it and getting another plan is certainly a good idea, IMO - but if your plans are 'scrambled' from a dice roll - then adjust and put things back on the plan... its that simple.

PCs without a ship (and therefore even more at the mercy of 'delays' that would let their rep catchup with them) with a bounty on their heads and Players who want a ship... plenty of material there to start from. Maybe someone - with a ship and a 'cargo' or other agenda - in your TU needs a few qualified individuals, wanting a ship, who are fugitives of the law (and thus less likely to be picky about the job and opportunities they sign on for).

 

[robject]

Adventures can be about the same things, regardless of location: power struggles at local, regional, and imperial levels. Corporations jockeying for resources. Pirates nibbling at the borders. Law enforcement selectively keeping the peace. Worlds striving against worlds.

1. Re-Use...

Re-use your plot elements. Just port them into Lishun, changing the names and places appropriately, but keeping the overall structure (you DO have a structure, right?).

2. ...or By the Map

Get the subsector map, and have the mainworlds detailed using an automated system (e.g. Heaven and Earth) -- or, as I hinted at before, re-use an existing world map with a close-enough UWP. Just stick the new name on it.

Determine the 6 most important worlds in the subsector. Use the UWP to rate the worlds in the subsector, and pick the 6 with the best scores:

Starport A or B: 1 point
Starport E or X: -1 point

Population 9 or A: 1 point
Population 7 or less: -1 point

TL A or better: 1 point
TL 6 or less: -1 point

Subsector capital: 1 point
Naval base: 1 point

Trade codes Ag Ri In: 1 point each
Trade codes Ni Po: -1 point

For each of these 6 important worlds, determine the most important person's name, career, primary skill, and secondary skill; determine what they want to do. Then determine the 6 people under each of them by name, career, primary skill, and secondary skill. Let those results give you ideas.

3. ...or By Career

Define 7 primary factions in the subsector by personality. For each career type, determine the most important person for that faction.

The IISS (Scouts) faction seeks to catalog and exploit worlds for the Imperium.

The Navy faction seeks to fund its building program while wiping out all piracy.

The Army faction seeks -- well I don't know, training grounds on every world for recruitment and equipping, logistical intelligence on every world, and an impossible level of centralized control. OR something.

The Marines faction sometimes sides with the Navy faction, sometimes with the Army faction, sometimes hates the Army faction, and inasmuch as it ever seeks anything, it seeks martial law because of XYZ.

The Merchants faction sometimes sides with the Scouts, but opposes every Imperial faction on principle, and is also as powerful as any two or three Imperial factions combined.

The Rogue or Other faction runs the organized criminal underworld, sometimes cooperates with the Merchants, sometimes cooperates with the Scouts, but typically is hated by all the others.

The Psionics faction denies its own existence, and operates as creepy X-files-like guys who operate under their own paranoid quasi-illuminati agenda.

 

[coldwar]

The Main Structure of it was simply:-
1. Work trial for a Sub-sector Capitol Owned Shipping Company of 2 months game time.
2. If successfull, The Captain that is running the ship will tell the PC's why the company has brought it's new ship and gone to a particular area. To Hunt down a Pirate couple.
3. Search for the Pirates
4. Locate and arrest/kill them. Alive being preferable.
5. Get the Pirates dead or alive back to the Sub Sector Capitol.
All whilst avoiding/dealing with the crews rival free trader in the cluster.

Yes it is fairly basic, but I prefer basic ones to allow room for side things. Next thing, the Misjump I allowed it, main reason was to put them somewhere further away from the Imperium itself. Lastly, they ingame was fired because of them driving another ship in to an asteroid. And I also think that they wouldn't be able to effectively perform the Campaigns assignment. Coupled together, they are needing to flee, which will likely make them leave the cluster of worlds I made the campaign for.
Also, lastly, they have decided to get a ship which they have got. They may be looking for some crew, which will be sorted out given that I have allowed the characters to be on Sograzung for a month, during which time they do some local odd-jobs, recruit crew hear that they are wanted and some training. So they have their own ship.
At the moment, the major driving force I have would be that they have a Bounty Hunter on them, whilst they need to earn credits.

 

[Lycanorukke]

The Julian protectorate is roughly a bi-racial confederation of Humans and Vargr, and they dont like the Imperium very much.

The best information is in challenge #49, but some can be grabbed from the wiki, from Falkayn's old pages and this HWIG article

 

[coldwar]

Thank you Lycanorukke.

Read some of it, awesome. Will be reading it allot in the next few days.
Noting this and something posted already, I think I may now have my new campaign plot. A Scout contacting the PC's (possible coming along, bringing them some needed skills that they need) and asking them to explore and take intelligence of the Julian Protectorate.

Mmmmm

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Hmmmm.... why not try this, coldwar:

In trying to crew their ship, why not bring along said pirates from original idea? Some guys hanging around the starport the last week or so... maybe they don't notice these guys are a little over-eager to sign up... willing to take a lower wage than anyone else......

Once in space - maybe jump - the new crewmembers mutiny. Maybe there's a stowaway/fake passenger to help them.

If the players figure out the fake passenger/stowaway (who is crucial to the pirates' plans, natch), they can short-circuit the mutiny. If not, they can go along with the pirates and end up finding their hideout, etc., or they can take back the ship in some way. If the latter, they can use some evidence on the pirates to find the pirate lair, and so on.

It lets you bring in some of your prepared material, and lets you give them a test (figuring out the fake passenger/stowaway) to see if they have learned a little and can progress down that path. If they can't but they might in the future, then you have the pirates stay on board for a while, looking for their opportunity.

[EDIT]: And, I think it can work with your idea above, too. (Which you wrote while I was writing! )

 

[DaveChase]

Have them get contacted by the pirates that they were hunting. The pirates make them an offer to join them or else.

If they say no, make sure that they escape so that they now have 2 groups after them, which will keep them on their toes.

If they say yes, let them play along at being pirates, and after a while they get contacted by an undercover Imperium Agent that is willing to make them a bargin. Work for the Imperium to help over throw (destroy) the pirate group and all will be forgiven as far as the Imperium is concerned.

You can add a few more details, like promise of Credits or even tell them that they can not kill anyone as a pirate or the deal is off, etc.

Dave Chase

 

[Enoki]

You might initially try and just get some control back by using something like generating a set of circumstances for each of the systems that they can jump to next. MT has something in it like that.

Pre-generate for each system what happens when they jump in (ship encounters etc.) then what encounters could happen on the planet or in other parts of the system. Get them as far as the next jump doing stuff to keep them busy for the current session. That way you can concentrate on generating the scenario for the next system when their jump ends which begins the next gaming session.

That puts you back in some control over events. It may not be the scenario you wanted but if you are creative with the random general events that were generated you can have a good scenario waiting for them. Tie it into previous events and the type of characters being played as well. Maybe have a couple of alternatives worked out just in case.

From where you said they are there are only 7 systems they can jump to. Some are Vargr, some non-aligned, and one is a client state (I assume Imperial client). If you want to push them in one or another direction give them some rumors etc., that will force a decision to jump pretty much were you want them to.

 

[Fovean]

There's a ton of info on the Empty Quarter sector and Julian Protectorate in the Stellar Reaches fanzine:

http://stellarreaches.nwgamers.org/

BUT it is all built around 993 Imperial... no reason you couldn't just drop it in to your current timeline if you find something you like.