Retro Space Opera Campaign Help

[Retro-Rocket]

I have a idea for a retro space opera game using d20 Future rules. I want to go for pulp sci-fi type game. Something like the old Buck Rogers or the E.E. Doc Smith's Lensmen series. You know square jawed heros, 40's-50's style retro-rocketships, atomic rayguns, beautiful heroines, bug eyed aliens, etc.....

The problem I am having is where to start design wise. What does a player basically need to know about the setting? With D&D, people know what a sword does, or what a horse is. But a Skysled? A Delmetter Mk3 Blaster? How advanced is medicine? What kind of FTL drive is there. That sort of thing. I have a idea for a beginning scenario but as for the setting I can see alot of work ahead of me.

So what I need are some ideas on what I should start working on to fill out the setting. Any ideas or comments are greatly apreicated. Hopefully I can get my creative juices flowing.

 

[Ronin84]

Hey Retro!

Just an idea why don't you write up a little history for your world/idea and flavor it with those items that would have become common place. It might just give you some adventure hooks and would allow your players a chance to see/read what they are getting themselves in for.

EE Doc Smith did stuff like that a lot in the beginnings of his books, by giving you a little behind the scenes picture you knew what you were getting into. I am not saying give the whole thing away just a little so that the players have some ground to stand on.

Anyways my 2 cents.

 

[Retro-Rocket]

Hey Retro!

Just an idea why don't you write up a little history for your world/idea and flavor it with those items that would have become common place. It might just give you some adventure hooks and would allow your players a chance to see/read what they are getting themselves in for.

EE Doc Smith did stuff like that a lot in the beginnings of his books, by giving you a little behind the scenes picture you knew what you were getting into. I am not saying give the whole thing away just a little so that the players have some ground to stand on.

Anyways my 2 cents.

Well my beginning adventure has to do with ships disappearing in a sector of space and the players are sent in undercover to discover who or what is doing it. Using your idea I can write a short introduction using one of these missing ships and it's fate to introduce some of the basic campaign ideas to the players. I like it.

"The thrum of the six atomic furnaces could be felt by the purser as he walked down the corridor to the first class dining area. Checking his chronogram, he noted that the Sirius Queen spaceliner had several hours to go before it landed at the Rigel V Spaceport."

 

[Chingerspy]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
Do it.
Then let me in on all you do!

I would still very much like to do a Harry Harrison game using D20 Future. It would probably be the silly end of his work though the more serious does hold a high place in my heart.

I'm still fiddling about with the Fusetender class Are there feats for stripping off quickly and changing red hot fuses? thought not. I better start writing more

Good luck, and yes I really want to blag your ideas please

 

[Piratecat]

All the work has been done for you! For the love of God, run out and buy Green Ronin's Ennie-winning Spaceship Zero. I can't recommend this game enough - it's the quintessential 1950's space radio drama, sort of Lost In Space meets Dr. Who. If you want to see an example of play, check out Capellan's Q-Ship story hour here on EN World.

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=61544

 

[Chingerspy]

And a soundtrack by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, can't be bad! Arn't they the guys that have done a lot of Cthulhu songs? or am I thinking of Wizard?

I'm, what you could call intrigued...

 

[Runesong42]

Inspiration

If you want additional ideas, run a search on Rocket Robin Hood. That's pretty campish space opera kind of stuff to me. It's made by the same folks that brought you the old school Spider-Man (and in fact, they have some of the same voice actors and in one case, the same episode!)

With regards to what does what, as long as the game mechanic works, it doesn't matter how you describe it. I don't yet have a copy of d20 modern, but (for example) if you have an anti-matter gun that does 10d6 in that book, and you call it a Hyper-DeAtomizer, the players will call it a Hyper DeAtomizer and never care (or maybe even know) that you used the stats from d20 Modern.

Another good idea is to think less. Seriously. In those old school campy shows, no one cared HOW something worked as long as it did. Make up any crazy reason why your FTL engine works, add lots of technical-sounding words, and off you go. Watch old school Star Trek, or any Star Trek for that matter - that's what THEY did to describe any kind of pseudo-scientific anything.

 

[jezter6]

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=gadgetnamer

Don't forget a bunch of random gadget and spaceship names for the ultra campy equipment.

 

[Stormborn]

And a soundtrack by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, can't be bad! Arn't they the guys that have done a lot of Cthulhu songs? or am I thinking of Wizard?

I'm, what you could call intrigued...

DotHT did the special album that was published with CoC d20 and distributed by WotC, yes. And I loooooove the sound track.

 

[Piratecat]

Note that Spaceship Zero isn't a d20 game; it uses a different, elegant system that's a snap to pick up. I've written an Excel character sheet that takes most of the effort out of character generation. If you want it, let me know.