Help me *Plot* an Invasion campaign!

[Rhialto]

The progression from mini-arcs to minor arcs should be:
minion -> lieutennant -> boss

Three boss encouners leads to an archvillian encounter. Hints should be given about the archvillian at boss #1 and boss #2 with everything spelled out at boss #3.

So two games to find out about the minions
Two more games to take out the minion's lieutannant
Two more games to find out about the minion's boss. This boss drops a clue to the archvillian and tells the party about another location with different minions.

repeat as required.

Ahh, yes. Doc Smith's prescription.

To continue the advice, there should be a constant escalation in the villains' otherness. To lay out the ground rules...

Each successive group of villains should be stranger and more alien the ones before it, bringing the heroes closer and closer to the truth.
The boss of the group should be stranger and more alien then the lieutenant. The lieutenant should be stranger and more alien than the minions.
Begin with the enemies being slightly off, with hints of a greater conspiracy. End with them being as wild as you can think of them.

For example--

First the heroes defeat a bunch of apparently normal thugs engaged in a crime. The thugs use weapons that are strange, and are perhaps tattooed with an unusual symbol. Doing some digging they discover the gang is affiliated with a rogue scientist. Going after the scientist, they first have to get through his hulking bodyguard. After they defeat the scientist, they discover that he is in league with an association of such individuals. The heroes go to investigate this. Facing off against the inventors, they capture the group's leader only to discover he is a figurehead. Tracing his employer, they discover that the actual head of this organization is an as yet unknown sort of alien...

And so on, and so on, and so on...

 

[fredramsey]

One thing you can do with an Invasion campaign is play the Diplomacy angle

I hadn't considered this as the aliens are *probably* going to be of the "everyone is below us" variety, but it would certainly spice things up (and open more plot possibilities).

Thanks!

Next

 

[fredramsey]

To continue the advice, there should be a constant escalation in the villains' otherness. To lay out the ground rules...

This is good stuff. I had not planned on them being subtle at all, but it fits in with what they are, and certainly makes it more like a plot and less like an extended combat...

 

[MoonZar]

I hadn't considered this as the aliens are *probably* going to be of the "everyone is below us" variety, but it would certainly spice things up (and open more plot possibilities).

Thanks!

Next

BTW what is the rules you're gonna use ? D20 Starwars, D20 Future or something else ?

 

[fredramsey]

BTW what is the rules you're gonna use ? D20 Starwars, D20 Future or something else ?

Savage Worlds, actually. I ordered the Last Unicorn Games Star Trek RPG from eBay (I used to own it) which is chock full of original series fluff - timelines that make sense, etc. I will be adapting it to Savage Worlds.

I've even solved the PCs as Command Crew problem: Each player will have at least 2 characters; one will be command staff, such as Engineer, Science Officer, even Captain. The other character(s) will be lower-ranking specialists. That way, if it makes sense for the Engineer to remain on board the ship, the player can use his other character as part of the landing party...

 

[MoonZar]

Savage Worlds, actually. I ordered the Last Unicorn Games Star Trek RPG from eBay (I used to own it) which is chock full of original series fluff - timelines that make sense, etc. I will be adapting it to Savage Worlds.

I've even solved the PCs as Command Crew problem: Each player will have at least 2 characters; one will be command staff, such as Engineer, Science Officer, even Captain. The other character(s) will be lower-ranking specialists. That way, if it makes sense for the Engineer to remain on board the ship, the player can use his other character as part of the landing party...

Does these systems are in D20 ? I don't know theses stuffs

 

[fredramsey]

Does these systems are in D20 ? I don't know theses stuffs

http://www.peginc.com/Games/Games.htm

Download the Test Drive rules, if you want to know more.

The old Star Trek gamebook is out of print.

 

[MoonZar]

thanks you !!

 

[jmucchiello]

If you don't mind me turning this on its ear....

Make the aliens more merchantile but put the gate in/around the neutral zone. Now have the Federation have to stop the Romulans from invading the alien's home.

The early campaign is the accidental fight between the aliens and the Fed that is settled for peace through diplomacy.
The middle campaign is the diplomatic mission to establish trade. (during which foundation of the Romulan plot is laid. Romulans accompany the trade delegation to research the aliens.)
Finally the romulans dump a massive fleet through the gate and the alien ambassador (who just happens to be on the PC's ship) demands to know why the treaties have been broken. Perhaps they don't see why there should be a difference between the fed and the star empire (this could be a physiology thing: make the aliens non-humanoid).

Just a thought.

 

[fredramsey]

...and a very good one. But, and I had not mentioned this, the aliens beyond the gate are a very big Evil with a capital "E".

But that would make a very classic Trek campaign.