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How do I organize an epic campaign for the Volturnus series? Well, let's do some thinking together!
Act I
The first act is the events of the Volturnus series modules. These can be played as-is or modified slightly, hitting the same notes and adventure points, but probably played a little more sandbox and a little less railroaded.
You will notice a theme in the following acts that I want to remember for the events in all three arcs. The resources of good guy factions in the Frontier will be severely stretched thin and limited. What the public knows will be what the characters find out and share. There won't be huge UPF fleets sweeping in and saving the day, and good-guy PGC is likely dealing with falling profits and corporate reorganization around failed colony efforts due to Sathar raids.
Even planetary militias will be very hesitant to leave their systems, and they will be busy with pirate and Sathar attacks. You have to remember planetary politics, those militia ships are expensive, and they are supposed to protect planets, stations, and ship traffic in their home systems. Private corporations can afford starships, but there has to be something in it for them, and not every one of those companies will be honest and do things legally. You may have trouble figuring out who is a corporate or mercenary ship and who is a pirate or vessel working for a cartel.
The second thing to keep in mind is the Frontier is full of bad guys that are not the Sathar. Pirates, strip miners, illegal oil thieves, black market artifact sellers, criminal cartels, bad guy corporations, evil mercenaries, those looking to claim and settle worlds without permission, and others who would love to take advantage of a new planet will be attracted to opportunities like flies to honey. Shady or hostile governments will bankroll operations like this to get a piece of the action. If you have Star Law characters, they will both be a huge help and possibly overworked in rooting out all the corruption.
Oh, and keep the ship technology limited. No space vans that can land at one adventure site and go to another. No jumping anywhere to anywhere. Space routes are known and require ships to fly through dangerous space areas. Travel takes time. Shipping to new and dangerous areas frequently sees malfunctions, accidents, attacks, mine impacts, or complete losses to ships due to attacks. Some ships will never be found. Unknown ships could lurk about, and you will never know who they were or what they were doing there. And there will be ships out there looking to severely damage anyone in the system. There will be systems, planets, and routes completely cut off, and nothing can be done about it for a long time.
Space is not a safe place.
Nor will there be many to help.
That is up to you.
Act II
Ideally, for the second arc of the game, I would like to use Volturnus as a hub and continuing trouble spot. After the modules conclude, the characters will likely be highly regarded by the locals. Still, there will be trouble brewing from Frontier companies looking to lay claim to the world and its resources, pirates, and illegal strip mining and oil operations setting up to steal resources for profit. There could be criminal groups that steal artifacts and other cultural treasures for sale on the black market.
I envision a sizable UPF presence in the system, even with the Sathar defeated. Streel and Truane's Star can handle security, which creates a lot of scheming by evil corporations to take advantage of a new planet. I don't want a "good guy" corporation like PGC to have a considerable presence here; the characters must see and fight those forces of colonial exploitation.
When they get the word out of what is going on, much later, then PGC and UPF can move in and begin to make sure rights are respected, and security can be guaranteed. The entire universe's resources should be pulled in a million directions, and raising awareness of a new planet being exploited should be the first post-Volturnus campaign goal.
This could see pulling in Star Law and PGC into the game and getting them to the planet to see firsthand what is going on there - and protecting them and helping them out on missions to uncover nefarious operations. PGC, being a good corporation, will probably find its way out of bankruptcy in this arc due to ethical and sustainable Volturnus operations and give the characters credit for helping.
And those bad guys will be attacking any efforts to assist local populations and setup good corporate activities, as they want the planet to be in chaos and easily exploited.
The characters will be running afoul of pirates, evil corporations, mercenaries, and criminal syndicates across the Frontier during this "colonial exploitation" second act of the campaign. They will see new outposts and towns being built all across the planet, some good, some bad, and trying to right the wrongs and guide both the Frontier and Volturnus to a happy outcome.
But there won't be a happy outcome.
Act III
That is when act three happens, and the Sathar begin raiding ships leaving Truane's Star and all around the Volturnus system. This will be the blockade running and more starship wargame-focused arc of the campaign. Avoiding Sathar raiders, getting cargo and passengers back and forth to the planet, and search-and-destroy missions on Sathar ships.
Again, UPF and the Frontier's resources are likely strained in every direction, and help will be a long way off. It is crucial to avoid UPF and good-guy PGC sweeping in and saving the day, parking a fleet over the planet, and making things dull. Limit the resources of the good guys and helpful factions severely, make Sathars raid planets all over the galaxy, and keep the characters and their ship as a vital part of the planet's defense.
The players may even have to call in help from some of the people they can't stand from act two; when the planet is completely cut off for months and possibly years, they will need to adjust to being trapped in the system and cut off from any help. And if the players run the blockade or organize convoys that get attacked relentlessly (and with losses), that is another option for being a hero.
I want to stop here since these three acts are enough for years of sci-fi gaming. A fourth act would likely introduce a new nearby world with more species to meet and make them tie into the history of Volturnus in some way, but that is for the sequel to this trilogy and possibly for new characters to experience.
If I am guessing an end to the third act, it will be a huge space battle on the Sathar base or bases in and near the Volturnus system. You could set up the fourth act here by having the main base bee on a new world to explore and the characters (or the next crew) finding the aliens the Sathar were exploiting on this new and different world...
And the cycle starts again.
Thoughts
This is the sort of campaign, in hindsight; I wish I had run with my brother when we played. Don't just "one and done" an incredible setting; make this the centerpiece of this part of the universe and celebrate it, almost like Mars in John Carter. Use the isolation and remote location to the campaign's advantage. Make the space around the star dangerous, and even have the Sathars intruding on Frontier worlds and being major enemies in the final act. Even Sathar spies and saboteurs can take part, brainwashed or willing allies of the evil space worms, causing havoc, destroying starships, stealing data, and always threatening the players' efforts.
The first three modules are just the beginning.
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