Most memoriable Beginning Sci-fi adventures

[Salcor]

I was just wondering what the community at large considered as some of the most memoriable beginning science fiction adventures. There don't seem to be a whole lot of D20 science fiction adventures available, so what would people look for in a beginning adventure?

Salcor

 

[Khorod]

If one does not already exist, a plausible reason for the group to stay together is top priority. This usually means establishing the metaplot, or something that heads to the metaplot. Thats kind of a dull answer, but where fantasy allows for 'traveling companions' for a few days or weeks, Sci-Fi characters are busy, going about their professions... and if you start out without clear lines of assocation, their characters will need a reason to not head out for work the next morning.

And the overall scope I have found most enjoyable is 'the mission gone awry'.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

If one does not already exist, a plausible reason for the group to stay together is top priority. This usually means establishing the metaplot, or something that heads to the metaplot. Thats kind of a dull answer, but where fantasy allows for 'traveling companions' for a few days or weeks, Sci-Fi characters are busy, going about their professions... and if you start out without clear lines of assocation, their characters will need a reason to not head out for work the next morning.

And the overall scope I have found most enjoyable is 'the mission gone awry'.

The introductory adventures for StarDrive, Black Starfall and Red Starrise, were good for this. In the first one,

Spoiler

the players have a reason to be on Kendai Station, which lets the Stellar Ring communicate with the colonies of the far-off Verge. They are stuck on the station when it is hit by sabotage and murder, and so only they can fix the problem. Failing to fix the station means contact with the Verge will not be restored for several years. At the end, there's a huge plot twist that leads straight into the next adventure.

Because of the PCs "first contact" with the Verge, they are given a ship and sent to scout at Hammer's Star, the location of the huge plot twist. There, the players discover a number of secrets.

Afterwards, the players are such great friends they will probably stick together. They've got one ship among them, so maybe they'll get into information trading or something like that. Or they can go tackler the threat from the second adventure (it's big, and is made huge in a $14 PDF).

 

[Iron_Chef]

Here is a memorable Star Wars starter campaign I created using a free WoTC adventure as the shell. It is most suited for a party with one or two Jedi characters. I've written numerous cut scenes. Everything you need to run it for yourself is there, and there are plenty of ways to branch off or continue from the first big adventure which have been explored. Check it out!

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=479218

 

[DnDChick]

I am going to start Talnar's rescue this weekend. I'd love to read this for ideas, as soon as I can get the WotC boards to load. :\

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

Dawning Star is the first full-scale science-fiction campaign setting built on d20 Modern and powered by d20 Future. So, it stands to reason that we would have the best adventure support as well.

There is a 20-page introductory adventure in Operation Quick Launch.

We ran a stellar 50-page entry-level adventure at Gen Con, and it will be posted as a free download on our site in a matter of days.

We have Shadow Falling available in pdf format and should have it available in print format shortly. Shadow Falling is the first full-length adventure module for d20 Future.

Finally, we are planning a mega-adventure that will probably release early next year.

Hope that helps.

 

[genshou]

The d20 Future game I'm getting ready to start up revolves around stellar warfare, so I'm starting things with an unsuccessful blockade run followed by a crash-landing and the PCs being forced to defend themselves from rebel troops moonside while they try to repair the ship engine. It depends on the style of your game and the level of your PCs. In my case, I need something 1st-level characters can do with good equipment (namely, starship weapons and a couple Large mecha vs. small squads of ground soldiers). And it works well with the campaign, also giving the PCs a reason to stick together at first. You don't decide to split up and go your own way when in the middle of enemy territory

 

[Flynn]

I was just wondering what the community at large considered as some of the most memoriable beginning science fiction adventures. There don't seem to be a whole lot of D20 science fiction adventures available, so what would people look for in a beginning adventure?

Salcor

Salcor,

The most memorable sci-fi beginning adventures I've run have both come from Classic Traveller: The Chamax Plague and Death Station. Both are variations on the alien thriller aspects of the Aliens tertalogy, and easily get the PCs in the mood for a sci-fi campaign. Going from there to other adventures proved easy enough in the cases where I've used these, and I've run the scenarios in a variety of systems, so I know they are easy concepts to implement.

Hope this helps,
Flynn

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

As promised, The Edge of Shadow is now available for free download. EoS is a 42-page adventure set in the world of Dawning Star but usable in most any sci-fi campaign. Designed for characters of 2nd-4th level, it also includes 10 pre-generated characters.

 

[genshou]

As promised, The Edge of Shadow is now available for free download. EoS is a 42-page adventure set in the world of Dawning Star but usable in most any sci-fi campaign. Designed for characters of 2nd-4th level, it also includes 10 pre-generated characters.

*hugs Justin D. Jacobson's genderless online persona*