[Dragonstar] My party learned a lesson this weekend.

[novyet]

Well my party learned an important lesson this weekend. You see they were onboard a merchant vessel taking cargo from one planet to a moon in the system. They were attacked by raiders, (that's why they were hired) and so the party goes to meet the raiders head on. Now they prepare an ambush and attack as the raiders get onboard. After killing the first wave off, they find that they are orcs (actually they were scro, it's a mixed spelljammer/dragonstar game), and thinking that the next group will be easy targets since they are orcs they don't bother to setup an ambush this time. So the orcs board the vessel and after a intense firefight, 5 of 7 orc raiders is dead, and so are 4 of 6 pc's. They told me afterward they had a huge amount of fun and wanted to start up a dragonstar campaign asap. (This was a side game as a break from the main campaign)

What my pc's learned about Dragonstar as compared to D&D.

- Anyone with a gun is deadly, no matter what.
- Never, ever, ever bunch up! (2 pc's were killed by a grenade)
- Charging a guy with a shotgun = bad. (but really really funny)

What I learned

- Autofire = fun.
- Experienced D&D players will sometimes underestimate "weak" races to their own downfall.
- Guns really are the great equalizer!
- Dragonstar really really rocks!

 

[Wikidogre]

Sounds like it was fun!

thats very funny, your expirience seems very closely related to mine pc's first venture into the Great and fabulous Dragonstar Galaxy. except that 5 of 6 pc's died, while trying to escape the clutches of the Imperial Legions, i started them off being Fantasy pc's. but they all loved it and we have been playing it alot lately.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

In my 1st Dragonstar session as Game Master, I gave my enemies only Submachine Gun and similar low-damage weapons. My party did quite well, even if it was very dangerous in some situations. I believe the always won Initiative, so they had good chances.
(It wasn`t our first Dragonstar Adventure, but it was the first with 1st level characters and Trauma Symbionts)

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[novyet]

When I was running it, the dice rolls basically reversed and whew it just got crazy from there! I used a mix of ballistic weapons, smg's, pistols, assault carbine's, shotguns and a couple guys had a grenade. I'm running with the assumption (purely my own of course, cause it could be kind of silly) that orcs would like ballistic weapons for the noise and the messy wounds they leave. Seems good to me.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I thought the same.

And, I think I will include in my campaign that the heavier weapons are not as usual as DragonStar might assume.
All martial weapons are subject to some law-restrictions. Though I won`t forbid my player these weapons...
(Interestingly, in my group, there are 4 small size characters. 2 Halfings (1 Ranger, 1 Rogue), 2 Gnomes (1 mechanist, one "talisman", a homebrew core class concentrating on "chaning the fate". Comparable in powers with a Bard, I think. Though the groups seems to look a bit... "unusual", the advantage is that they can`t use the heavier weapons...)

The Galaxy Guide gives some good tips regarding to the increased weapon damage, though sometimes, we still doubt that it will work in the long run. We will see...

Mustrum Ridcully