Need idea about player spaceship landing on planets

Hand of Evil · Nov 30, 2018

> Docking cost - space ports can charge by size of the space ship.

> Location - space ports and landing locations may not allow for space ships over a certain size, meaning a large ship may have to find a landing spot further away from the target site.

> Danger - based on fuel type and traffic a large ship can be problematic (see above) but can pose a hazard.

> Taxes - tonnage cost.

> Planet defenses - this can be made or natural, such as; shields, magnetic fields, dust, monsters, ion particles, raiders and so on.

pemerton · Dec 1, 2018

dragoner said:
I'd run with the Traveller RPG's use of streamlined/unstreamlined spacecraft, I have done it this way and it works well.

You beat me to it!

dragoner · Dec 1, 2018

pemerton said:
You beat me to it!

Thanks, I also like the ecological impact of [MENTION=40176]MarkB[/MENTION] it could be something like a fusion rocket.

MarkB said:
Depending upon the setting and the society, you could go for an ecological angle. The shuttle is designed with atmospheric flight in mind, and has a propulsion system that works well for that context. But the ship's engines produce waste products including radioactive particles, dangerous carcinogens etc. ...

Thomas Bowman · Dec 1, 2018

I'm working on a mix and match campaign, the premise is that Toril appears in our Solar System on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth, along with Toril also appears its Moon Selune and the Tears of Selune in the Moon's L4 and L5 positions as well as a sphere of space around the planet 1,280,000 km (800,000 miles) in radius where SpellJamming physics operates although normal physics is not negated by this. Among the Tears of Selune is an asteroid called Stardock, to which a gate connects to Undermountain. Basically the PCs land a spaceship a discrete distance from Waterdeep in a Dragon Capsule landing by parachute and then separating to make a soft landing on the ground using retrorockets. I'm converting parts of the Dragone Heist module to 3rd edition to make it compatible with D20 Modern, fairly easy I think as most 5th edition monsters have their third edition equivalents, and the module itself just names the creature encountered and I just look it up in the 3rd edition monster manual., So I will run a group that is half D&D and half D20 Modern through these adventures. I plan on using a strong hero that will eventually become a soldier When he reaches a high enough level, in the setting he is a US marine, the second character is a fast hero who will become a gunslinger in this setting he is a Marine sharpshooter or a sniper, the third character is a smart hero that will become a field scientist when she reaches high enough level. They are equipped with modern equipment including satellite phones each so they can communicate with the spaceship they left in orbit, the satellite phone also has a GPS function. Their mission is to prepare a landing field so a larger spaceship can land in a few months, one of the requirements is the field needs to be cleared of vegetation so a BFR rocket can land safely without setting any fires.

Eltab · Dec 3, 2018

I would show your group the scene from Star Trek: Generations (the "crossover" movie with both Kirk and Picard in it) where Enterprise's saucer crash-lands on a planet. Your big ship is not aerodynamic, nor does it have an engine that can lift it against gravity. (If it did, the exhaust would be a problem all its own.)
You can land the big ship ONCE - then you have to call the Space "Coast Guard" to bail you out.

Ratskinner · Dec 4, 2018

hmm...some good thoughts already. Mine:

a) Big ships don't have landing gear and require special docking bays or landing pads. ("Its a 500 credit docking fee with a 1000 credit security deposit if you want to land the big ship.")
b) Big ships have a system/part that can get really easily fouled in atmosphere. ("As soon as you get into the atmosphere, the Bussard Collectors start overheating").
c) If you have "technomagic" artificial gravity, maybe it interacts poorly with "real gravity" at a planet's surface. ("About halfway down, you all feel very heavy and seasick...also, the structural integrity alarm starts sounding." or "As you land, big rocks and tree trunks start leaping off the ground and slamming into the ship.")
d) Speaking of structural integrity, I would imagine that a ship designed to fly in weightless atmospheric space would have a bit of trouble supporting itself against gravity...like a beached whale. Perhaps a typical ship requires an overhaul after landing on any but the lightest of worlds. (Can combo with "a" for added complexity.)
e) Many sci-fi worlds have atmospheres that have all sorts of nasty things in them like oxygen, water, dust...kinda famous for their corrosive effects on all sorts of metal. It'd be a shame if your shiny ship turned into a rust bucket for a short excursion.
f) Also, maybe the big ship works great on impulse or warp drive, but they don't function in atmo and the maneuvering thrusters make it a real trial to land and take off. ("You'll need a tow to get back up into orbit.")

Just off the top of my head.

BlackSeed_Vash · Dec 5, 2018

I like a lot of the reason listed already. Also, you can always use the banning of various technology. Certain worlds, empires, federations, etc may ban technology due to:

[1] The source: hostile world(s), illegal practices (like slavery labor), trade embargo from allies.

[2] The technology is considered unsafe at best, downright apocalyptic at worst. All it takes is a different set of safety standards to get something banned. A piece of tech might have a .00001% chance of igniting the atmosphere on fire under somewhat common circumstances when landing/taking off or just being within the atmosphere. Some worlds may figure that is well within acceptable levels, while others won't accept anything more than a .0000001% chance.

[3] The technology is "known" (whether true of not) to cause conflicts but nothing directly hazardous with critical/popular systems within the world. People might not be happy if your players landing their ship means a chance that the weather control grid get knocked outta wack or their equivalent to cable/netflix/youtube (or worse, their entire "internet") is lost for a few hours/days/weeks.

[4] The primary (and most likely society dominating) religion(s) ban the technology. Maybe it was invented/introduced by a heretic. Some part of the science and/or magic that the technology utilizes is considered abhorrent (or knowing the inner works of said technology would make people question the validity of their faith basis).

[5] The technology is considered only useful as a military weapon. Who wants a see a group of foreign/unknown creatures land anywhere on their planet who happen to have 20 nukes and who knows what else hooked up to their weapons systems. Even if every single weapon on that ship is there to protect their world, it's a worrying scenario.

Then all you have to do is link some key component(s) on the main ship but not the shuttle to a world's ban list, and remind the players that ignoring said laws can result in more than just your basic "parking violations".