Dragonstar :: what happened?

[cybernetic]

Hey, everyone! I've been away from d20 for far to long..and I get back into it and I see that Dragonstar has kinda fallen off the radar! It's a shame..cause I've loved the setting. Anyone know of any good resources (and especially forums) for Dragonstar? I noticed that FFG no longer has a DS forum...

 

[Knightfall]

Hey, everyone! I've been away from d20 for far to long..and I get back into it and I see that Dragonstar has kinda fallen off the radar! It's a shame..cause I've loved the setting. Anyone know of any good resources (and especially forums) for Dragonstar? I noticed that FFG no longer has a DS forum...

Dragonstar was cancelled.

Go here for the Dragonstar D20 yahoo group, and check out this website for a fairly good v.3.5 conversion.

Cheers!

KF72

 

[jcfiala]

I think Dragonstar was one of the casualties of the big 3.5 changeover. I kinda like it, and have the set of the books they sold off last year, but haven't really had time to read it in detail yet.

 

[JustKim]

What killed Dragonstar for me was the amount of time it took to come out. We knew a fair deal about the setting and expectations arose so that months (a year?) later when it was released, it was not spectacular and in some cases a disappointment.

 

[cybernetic]

Thats for the links Knightfall.

I think I was lucky enough that I pretty much just passed by the hype before DS came out, the technomagic space opera dnd idea didn't really appeal to me then. One of my players brought the Starfarer's Handbook to a session when it first came out and I fell in love with the setting, JustKim.

 

[Agent Oracle]

Elf witch and I play it.

Not, in the same place at the same time, mind you...

I picked up the book almost a year after it came out. The players guide first, then i had to hunt down copies of the DM guide.

After that, it took half a year more to get a group of players who were willing to try a Sci-fi game.

And now, my group is hooked. Two other payers have scrounged up the 3.0 Dragonstar Player handbook, and a third bought Traveller d20, which is HIGHLY compatible.

It helps that i'm a halfway decent DM, and help the players whenever possible.

I started them off in the employ of house mezzebonne, over the first four levels, they helped conquer a planet, ultimately taking out a steam-tank in a grand set-piece battle.

Now, they have been issued their own explorer class ship, had some down time while travelling to the next planet on Admiral Bargle's list... they are acting as a scouting vessel...

Nobody has been brave enough yet to play any of the expanded races, but i'm sure once they have a few more levels in them that at least one player in my group is making a half-dragon.

 

[Psion]

What killed Dragonstar for me was the amount of time it took to come out.

Absolutely.

There was a lot of initial enthusiasm, but the promised a prompter schedule than they could deliver and ultimately failed to strike while the iron was hot.

I don't think DS was a 3.5 switchover victim. It seems like it was wallowing before that.

 

[Psion]

And now, my group is hooked. Two other payers have scrounged up the 3.0 Dragonstar Player handbook, and a third bought Traveller d20, which is HIGHLY compatible.

Wow. So what do you steal from T20?

I like T20's more explicit take on systems. That would be cool.

Do you try to use classes, etc? How is that working for you?

 

[Agent Oracle]

First and foremost, the T20 equipment list is MUCH better than the Dragonstar list. It contains lots of minor pieces of equipment that are vital for Sci-fi settings, but were forgotten from Dragonstar (like mag-grapple guns). Traveler d20 is also being used to design the ship that the players are getting. I, as the game master, do not own traveler d20, but from what i have read of my player's copy, it's exceptionally well thought out, and the classes are well balanced. (though my players aren't playing any of the T20 classes ... yet...)

Also, both systems are identical in terms of equipment cost. seriously, the guns are pretty much evenly priced for their efficiency... ditto for their tools.

 

[Vigilance]

Hey, everyone! I've been away from d20 for far to long..and I get back into it and I see that Dragonstar has kinda fallen off the radar! It's a shame..cause I've loved the setting. Anyone know of any good resources (and especially forums) for Dragonstar? I noticed that FFG no longer has a DS forum...

My impression was that most FFE settings were designed to be short-term affairs (Dragonstar, Dawnforge, Fireborn), with Midnight being the one exception.

I think that's a fairly good way to do a setting myself.

Chuck