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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Elton" data-source="post: 1473911" data-attributes="member: 14486">I had a thought recently about building a d20 Space Opera Campaign for education in economics.  What we are talking about here is a Campaign for you're pre-teens.  So, how to go about building a Space Opera Campaign?Realizing the Competition So, okay. I've got Dragonstar and I've got Star Wars.  I don't have d20 Traveler.  In both of them, you can run a Han Solo type campaign if you want to.  But their basic premises are wholly different.In Star Wars space fantasy, Lucas' world revolves around the Rise of an Empire and the Fall of the Jedi Knights, and the fight against Empire and the rebirth of the Jedi Knights.  Although you can play free traders, pirates, smugglers, and mercenaries --- the Struggle against Tyranny overshadows the whole Star Wars universe.In Dragonstar, you can play free traders.  They released a book on running a Free Trader campaign recently.  However, Dragonstar is D&D in space. Period.  Although its not Spelljammer, it is Dungeons and Dragons in Space.  Space Fantasy a'la orcs, elves, wizards, sorcerers, and psions.  Which is very good by the way.  Only problem is, you have two classes suitable for a Free Trade campaign: Rogue and Pilot.  Crap.Not knowing what D20 Traveler is like, I've decided to make my campaign setting hook Free Trade for the teaching of how a Free Economy works for younger kids.  I'll add other setting hooks as necessary, but lets begin with this one.Interstellar Capitalism and Free Trade So I have my first hook.  My basic idea, inspired by an Origins Computer Game I enjoyed called Privateer and Righteous Fire.  If anyone remembers that computer game, you played a Free Trader in the Wing Commander universe.  So immediately, I have to think about other hooks to make the game more interesting.Hook 2: Urban Arcana in space? Not really.  My second hook is a basic interstellar history hook.  I thought that the Drow would control an Imperium in Space and the Terrans (us!) fought them and defeated them in a war which freed some systems populated by orcs, saurians, and Sidhe (elves).  The whole area takes place in the Sol sector; divided up into quadrants: Sindar, Saurian, Skroe, and Solar.  The Sol Sector is an alliance between four home worlds: Noldor, Valor, Skr'o, and Earth.  They have allied with each other against the Tyranny of the Drow Imperium.  Relations with the Drow has cooled down into a Cold War.  Except for psionics (hook #4) there is no magic in this setting.Hook 3: Different Stellar Drives So there are different ways of going FTL.  All five races use a different drive.  The Sidhe with their power based on Sentient, Psionic Trees use a Psi-Warp drive.  Their ships are carved out of wood and they ply Space in huge ships made of wood.The Terrans have developed a Hyperdrive.  The Hyperdrive requires that the ship reach c before entering Hyperspace, which is really the Astral Plane.  Their current technology is the fourth generation Hyperdrive, which allows Terrans to cross space at a cruising speed of seven parsecs a day.The saurians do not have FTL, but their ships are capable of Time Dilation.  Each time the ship speeds closer to c (the speed of light in a vaccuum), time slows down at a relative rate.  So while Saurian space ships can go fast, they can't go FTL.  They use natural wormholes instead.The orcs use spacefolding techniques to cover great distances.  Their largest ships can fold the space around them taking a flotilla or a fleet with them.The Drow uses Astral Step technology.  Their ships can phase in and out of Hyperspace.  While terran ships can zip past them in a straight line, Drow ships can manuever and fly in astral space.  They can pop in and out of normal space undetected.  Fortunately for Terrans, they captured a drow vessel with this sort of technology.To help with free trade throughout the Alliance, the Terrans managed to create the Jump Engine.  Using special points in every system where Hyperspace is closer to Normal Space, one only needs to engage the Jump Drive at a Jump Point, and the ship is slingshot through Astral Space to another system; reaching the destination system in a matter of seconds. This makes astrogation easy and makes free trade within the Alliance easier.  This means that the home worlds use their regular drives for big business shipping and military use. Fourth Hook: Psionics Finally, I decided to add psionics.  This allows for a piece of uncertainty, or feelings that Man is Supreme.  Usually it's either high technology, magic, or psionics in a Roleplaying Game.  Since the theme of the campaign is Free Trade (Traveler D20) rather than a New World (Blue Planet), I thought psionics would be an effective "Man is Supreme" kind of thing.Those hooks address the special situations, but not the Mystery element.  What would make my players coming back for more?  What is so mysterious about out there?Blue Planet has it's Aborigines, Star Wars has the Force, Dragonstar (if the DM permits, but WotC does not) have Illithids.  What does my campaign have that is so mysterious?  What about a race of precursors?  There has to be a reason why Sidhe, Drow, Orcs, and Humans look similiar right?  By adding a race of Precursors I can add an element of Mystery to the campaign setting.Next: What base system shall I decide to use?  Playing the D20 Modern and D20 Base waltz.How can I build my ship?  Deciding between D20 Mecha and Neo's Custom Ship Construction Rules.</blockquote>

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