[OOC] The Starship 'Fritjof Nansen'

[Agemegos]

Remember, the paradigm adventure for this campaign starts with the explorers meeting the people of some colony and getting engaged by their issues. The problem may be kicked upstairs to the big table for a conference scene and then passed to the diplomatic delegation or the marines detachment; perhaps the Powers will lay down their vicegerency and call on the navy to open the big eye and let some light shine in. But it typically starts with the explorers exploring.

That means that the explorers and they ways that they engage with the colonials they meet are where the rubber meets the road in terms of getting adventures started. I need to know about explorers and the grommets they present to my adventure hooks.

Furthermore, the others are Imperial officers who have been through stringent screening and are to a certain extent stereotyped. But the explorers are mostly a bunch of colonial academics hired on for survey specially because of the Empire's shortage of anthropologists, ethnographers, geographers, geologists, oceanographers, etc. Their characters are correspondingly less constrained by the campaign premise.

[Agemegos]

Also, I'd like to hear about what rules you'd like to use. We all know GURPS, but it's more complicated than I think is ideal, especially for PBP.

My habit is to use ForeSight where-ever possible, but only I think two of you have copies, and only I am familiar with it.

I wonder whether something really simple such as BESM or FUDGE might be best, though I'm not very familiar with them.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by jmurrell

We may be the Social Science team but I suspect most of us should have some practical physical/outdoor abilities. With just 288 survey billets available and thousands and thousands of scientists itching for the chance to do real fieldwork, just being good at one specialty isn't enough.

My explorer is a Marine from the planet of Scouts. So yes, practical physical/outdoor abilities.

Originally Posted by Agemegos

That means that the explorers and they ways that they engage with the colonials they meet are where the rubber meets the road in terms of getting adventures started. I need to know about explorers and the grommets they present to my adventure hooks.

Strickland is going be young (how young is plausible for a Marine Lt. qualified for this mission?) compared to the other explorers, I think. A gift for getting inside other people's heads has got to be a double edge sword, so she's certainly going to have a tendency to sympathize with the colonial concerns. At this point I'm seeing as much of T.E. Lawrence as of Richard Burton. She's a girl scout from the planet of girl scouts and grew up on tales of adventure. She certainly idolizes the ethnographic explorers that came before her.

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Also, I'd like to hear about what rules you'd like to use. We all know GURPS, but it's more complicated than I think is ideal, especially for PBP.

Stripping down GURPS isn't hard. I think in this case Social Engineering is going to be more useful than Martial Arts or Tactical Shooting anyway. This might be a game where the Combat Lite rules are good enough.

My habit is to use ForeSight where-ever possible, but only I think two of you have copies, and only I am familiar with it.

ForeSight is fine with me, but it does put all of the heavy lifting on you.

I wonder whether something really simple such as BESM or FUDGE might be best, though I'm not very familiar with them.

Either system puts a lot of prep work onto the GM, especially FUDGE, otherwise either is fine with me.

I guess if I have to state a preference it would be ForeSight. FLAT BLACK is native to it, and therefore it's least amount of work for you and ForeSight seems to handle PbP fairly well.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

My explorer is a Marine from the planet of Scouts. So yes, practical physical/outdoor abilities.

<edit> Sorry, I confused Strickland with McAdams for a moment there.

Strickland is going be young (how young is plausible for a Marine Lt. qualified for this mission?)

Well, a company officer who was exemplary field-officer material might be adequately proven and seasoned-in-the-field by 27. The merely excellent might not make it until 36; the above-average until 46, "meets standards" until 65, "passable" until 72.

Stripping down GURPS isn't hard. I think in this case Social Engineering is going to be more useful than Martial Arts or Tactical Shooting anyway. This might be a game where the Combat Lite rules are good enough.

Indeed.

ForeSight is fine with me, but it does put all of the heavy lifting on you.
Either system puts a lot of prep work onto the GM, especially FUDGE, otherwise either is fine with me.

I guess if I have to state a preference it would be ForeSight. FLAT BLACK is native to it, and therefore it's least amount of work for you and ForeSight seems to handle PbP fairly well.

Cool! Did I send you a copy already?

[martinl]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Also, I'd like to hear about what rules you'd like to use. We all know GURPS, but it's more complicated than I think is ideal, especially for PBP.

Agree, but the Pudding Errant makes a good point about stripdownability of GURPS. "Pointless" charbuild where GURPS is just a description language rather than a chargen algorithm is less odious.

My habit is to use ForeSight where-ever possible, but only I think two of you have copies, and only I am familiar with it.

Agreed. I would be willing to pick it up if everyone wanted it, however.

I wonder whether something really simple such as BESM or FUDGE might be best, though I'm not very familiar with them.

No BESM experience. I find FUDGE to be a pretty useful high level description language (heck, I ran a FUDGE game last night), but sometimes bemoan it's granularity. I don't think that particular problem is a big one in PBP though.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

<edit> Sorry, I confused Strickland with McAdams for a moment there.

Yeah, I'm the only one with two Marines.

Well, a company officer who was exemplary field-officer material might be adequately proven and seasoned-in-the-field by 27. The merely excellent might not make it until 36; the above-average until 46, "meets standards" until 65, "passable" until 72.

So mid-thirties seems to work well here. How about 35? Still puts her on the young end of the explorers, yes?

Cool! Did I send you a copy already?

I don't think so.

[Adina]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Also, I'd like to hear about what rules you'd like to use. We all know GURPS, but it's more complicated than I think is ideal, especially for PBP.

GURPS is certainly my native character description language. But it does have a lot of skills which makes for lengthy char sheets.

My habit is to use ForeSight where-ever possible, but only I think two of you have copies, and only I am familiar with it.

You sent me a copy so I have it. I've never actually used it though so I have no feel for its numbers and skills. You would be getting a lot of "How do I stat this?" and "How good is this number" questions.

I wonder whether something really simple such as BESM or FUDGE might be best, though I'm not very familiar with them.

Have not used either one.

I would say use GURPS or ForeSight. GURPS is probably easiest for us players but ForeSight for the GM once the chargen hand-holding is over.

[sir_pudding]

I already have the old versions of Bucky and Ada, in GURPS, FWIW.

[Adina]

Same for Bear, and by old I mean Bear 40 years later.

[Adina]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

That means that the explorers and they ways that they engage with the colonials they meet are where the rubber meets the road in terms of getting adventures started. I need to know about explorers and the grommets they present to my adventure hooks.

Well Rabin is curious (like a cat, and yes I know how that ends) and passionate about his work. He likes people and talking to people. Slavery is going to be a hot-button issue for him.

That what you need?