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Starcraft RPG: Who would be interested?
- Thread starter Calico_Jack73
- Start date
(Psi)SeveredHead
Adventurer
I'm a HUGE StarCraft fan, but still I'd have to say no.
Future RPG settings are really hard to design. StarCraft isn't Firefly; it's far removed from real-life, which creates problems when it comes to players ... solving problems. It also creates a large number of balance problems (Dark Templar PCs? Good luck balancing them!) and is a woefully underdeveloped universe on top of that. At least it isn't Star Trek; between a zillion alien races, overpowered phasers and transporters that would nearly be unplayable.
Maybe if there were several more well-written novels, they stopped making powered armor so uber, found a way of keeping PCs out of vehicles like Wraiths and Goliaths, made Ghosts "playable" or banned them and ensured that Protoss were NPC-only I'd be interested, but I doubt the designers would try to keep the vehicle, Ghost and Protoss fans out of the game.
Oh yeah, I own and even ran the StarCraft RPG. The adventures were pretty bad, and the lack of rules were irritating, but even a "well-designed" RPG could only do so much. They did use Protoss, a bad idea due to a near lack of information about Protoss (we don't even know how they eat, much less what the Khala really gives them, or how you go from Zealot to High Templar to Archon, and that would involve really messy rules anyway) and, of course, didn't include race information so no one could make a Protoss character using the rules; you just had to "steal" the Protoss character cards.
If it were made with d20 something, I hope it wouldn't be made with d20 Future, as that's just a flawed foundation. D20 Modern with a new set of future rules might work, but see all those problems above.
Edit: A decent example of a StarCraft "RPG" - http://www.logamation.com/flash/starcraft/starcraft1.php
They just removed the overpowered stuff and all the "PCs" are Terran infantry.
Future RPG settings are really hard to design. StarCraft isn't Firefly; it's far removed from real-life, which creates problems when it comes to players ... solving problems. It also creates a large number of balance problems (Dark Templar PCs? Good luck balancing them!) and is a woefully underdeveloped universe on top of that. At least it isn't Star Trek; between a zillion alien races, overpowered phasers and transporters that would nearly be unplayable.
Maybe if there were several more well-written novels, they stopped making powered armor so uber, found a way of keeping PCs out of vehicles like Wraiths and Goliaths, made Ghosts "playable" or banned them and ensured that Protoss were NPC-only I'd be interested, but I doubt the designers would try to keep the vehicle, Ghost and Protoss fans out of the game.
Oh yeah, I own and even ran the StarCraft RPG. The adventures were pretty bad, and the lack of rules were irritating, but even a "well-designed" RPG could only do so much. They did use Protoss, a bad idea due to a near lack of information about Protoss (we don't even know how they eat, much less what the Khala really gives them, or how you go from Zealot to High Templar to Archon, and that would involve really messy rules anyway) and, of course, didn't include race information so no one could make a Protoss character using the rules; you just had to "steal" the Protoss character cards.
If it were made with d20 something, I hope it wouldn't be made with d20 Future, as that's just a flawed foundation. D20 Modern with a new set of future rules might work, but see all those problems above.
Edit: A decent example of a StarCraft "RPG" - http://www.logamation.com/flash/starcraft/starcraft1.php
They just removed the overpowered stuff and all the "PCs" are Terran infantry.
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Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Either you make it a wargame, and not an RPG (which would be reasonably easy to get right, I suspect) or you just use the world as your tableau and play the Marine with the short life expectancy and do your best to buck the odds.TwinBahamut said:
LoneWolf23
First Post
I'm considering building a Starcraft campaign using my GURPS books, actually.
Andor
First Post
Oooh. Starcraft 2. Thanks for the heads up! Now I have even more motivation to get a new computer. :-/
RPG wise I think you'd pretty cleary have to limit PCs to humans and maybe Protoss. A zerg PC?
GM: Okay Ph'glhem what do you do?
Ph'glhem: I eat Gary.
GM & Gary: What?
Ph'glhem: And then I spin a coccoon. With the extra mass from Gary I can morph into a Greater acid spitting ankle biter!
Gary: Bite me!
Ph'glhem: Way past that stage dude.
RPG wise I think you'd pretty cleary have to limit PCs to humans and maybe Protoss. A zerg PC?
GM: Okay Ph'glhem what do you do?
Ph'glhem: I eat Gary.
GM & Gary: What?
Ph'glhem: And then I spin a coccoon. With the extra mass from Gary I can morph into a Greater acid spitting ankle biter!
Gary: Bite me!
Ph'glhem: Way past that stage dude.
Kunimatyu
First Post
A friend of mine (fiddlerjones on these boards) has developed some fairly extensive rules for Starcraft using True20. He's run a short campaign, a one-shot at NC Gameday, and a "battle interactive"-like event at SciFiGenre in Durham, NC. It's a fun setting, but you pretty much have to play a Marine for it to work.
I'm sure he'll pop into this thread sooner or later...
I'm sure he'll pop into this thread sooner or later...
Arrgh! Mark!
First Post
I've been tossing up running a starcraft game with T20 for ages.
There isn't an issue with having different races. You just need to understand that Zerg are aliens and unless they are like Kerrigan or Duran are entirely unplayable. Protoss are either unplayable or at least a +5 EL creatures.
The issue is what problems could the PC's solve, basically. So I had a thought; you could set it at seperate times.
Part 1. Prior to the Mar Sara colony problem, PC's are traders on the outskirts of space who come across a black ops research vessel, half destroyed.
GM brings in the different human factions and lets the PC's know something weird was being researched. Investigation/diplomacy/maybe a bit of combat.
Part 2. Early human campaign. PC's are involved with the first few outbreaks of Zerg, becoming more and more wanted by the confederacy as they try to, for instance, save people that are doomed to being eaten by the Zerg. PC's sneak around, avoiding blockades, being captured, investigating what the confederacy is up to and so on.
Part 3. PC's find out about Earth agents, and track them back, perhaps being instrumental in the Brood Wars human bit.
Part 4. PC's work for Raynor, doing odds and ends.
Part 5. PC's break with Mengsk and find information and send it to raynor.
Part 6. PC's become Raynors agents, but are driven off by the Zerg through the Brood Wars. They move with the Protoss and Raynor, perhaps as agents investigating signs, places, and so on of the Xel'Naga.
This follows the campaigns but allows them basically not to get caught up in serious warfare; small skirmish stuff and generally investigating how evil the humans are. It works as a campaign better that way; more roleplaying opportunity.
There isn't an issue with having different races. You just need to understand that Zerg are aliens and unless they are like Kerrigan or Duran are entirely unplayable. Protoss are either unplayable or at least a +5 EL creatures.
The issue is what problems could the PC's solve, basically. So I had a thought; you could set it at seperate times.
Part 1. Prior to the Mar Sara colony problem, PC's are traders on the outskirts of space who come across a black ops research vessel, half destroyed.
GM brings in the different human factions and lets the PC's know something weird was being researched. Investigation/diplomacy/maybe a bit of combat.
Part 2. Early human campaign. PC's are involved with the first few outbreaks of Zerg, becoming more and more wanted by the confederacy as they try to, for instance, save people that are doomed to being eaten by the Zerg. PC's sneak around, avoiding blockades, being captured, investigating what the confederacy is up to and so on.
Part 3. PC's find out about Earth agents, and track them back, perhaps being instrumental in the Brood Wars human bit.
Part 4. PC's work for Raynor, doing odds and ends.
Part 5. PC's break with Mengsk and find information and send it to raynor.
Part 6. PC's become Raynors agents, but are driven off by the Zerg through the Brood Wars. They move with the Protoss and Raynor, perhaps as agents investigating signs, places, and so on of the Xel'Naga.
This follows the campaigns but allows them basically not to get caught up in serious warfare; small skirmish stuff and generally investigating how evil the humans are. It works as a campaign better that way; more roleplaying opportunity.
Hm, if I was playing a Starcraft RPG, I'd want to BE Raynor (or the equivalent), not work for him.
Which reminds me of some of the old Star Wars d20 ads. They would have a screencap from one of the movies, with an arrow pointing to a random extra on the side and a caption "What's his story?" Like, I don't CARE about a random extra. I want to be the guy in the MIDDLE of the screen, with the lightsaber or the Millennium Falcon's keys.
Which reminds me of some of the old Star Wars d20 ads. They would have a screencap from one of the movies, with an arrow pointing to a random extra on the side and a caption "What's his story?" Like, I don't CARE about a random extra. I want to be the guy in the MIDDLE of the screen, with the lightsaber or the Millennium Falcon's keys.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Those were Star Wars Galaxies ads, and you correctly identified why it was a disaster. (Other than, you know, giant planets devoid of content, bizarre required player interaction and game balanced apparently set up by someone who had never played a game in their life.) You couldn't be a jedi, but boy, could you be a moisture farmer!
