Stellar Quest: The "Season One" Campaign...

Good Afternoon, All:

I've been thinking about Stellar Quest lately, even as I've been working on the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, and it occurs to me that having a brief campaign outline for an imaginary "Season One of Stellar Quest" might be a good idea. In particular, I've been giving considerable thought to the fact that the Hadrons and the Artathi are on the coreward side of the Confederation, as well as some major unclaimed worlds frequented by the Romanni. I think this gives us an excellent opportunity to explore elements of the setting that were not touched by the inspirational material for Stellar Quest, namely the Gorn, Orion Pirates and Kzinti, and their relationships with the Federation.

Obviously, each group involved should have a goal that is explored over the course of "Season One". My immediate thoughts leapt on the Gorn... er, the Hadrons. Our favorite reptilians are likely seeking choice planets in the unclaimed territories, at least one of which should have a new Confederation colony present. This gives us the chance to reenact the "Arena" episode, if we so desired, but that would also require us to bring in the Transcendants or Devas. Instead, I'll skip the "Arena" episode and instead offer the Hadrons a chance to escalate their perception of the Confederation's preparations to launch an all-out attack.

The Artathi are likely interested in seeking out Progenitor technology in this region of space, for both power and religious significance. This could let us explore social-religious themes, if we so desired, and builds on the role that the Progenitors hold in Artathi culture. It also gives us a chance to integrate the Progenitors into the game, and introduce any of a number of non-corporeal races from a time period between the Progenitors and the current galactic age.

The Romanni are very common in this region, and this gives us a chance to look into their nomadic culture. A Romanni clan could perhaps take exception to the actions of the crew during their first encounter, and the fallout between the clan and the Confederation, followed by internal conflict within the Romanni, could make for some interesting background development there, as well.

Of course, there's also room for some adventures that simply build the setting, and bring in other influences from the inspirational material, including a parallel dimension, at least one time travel adventure, and several encounters with powerful psions, advanced lifeforms and the occasional alien predator.

The question then arises: Should "Season One" be released as part of the main rulebook? Or should "Season One" be a campaign/adventure sourcebook on its own?

What do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn

Stellar Quest: The Felinoid Artathi...

Good Afternoon, All:

For the fifth installment of our series on the enemy species of the default Stellar Quest setting, I offer the following blurb on the leonine Artathi, who are inspired by the Kzinti of the animated Star Trek series and the Aslan of Traveller. You may recognize them from my Madlands Campaign info, as well. May as well not waste good work, right?

The Artathi

The Artathi are large, carnivorous felinoid beings from the Artathi Pride Worlds, a moderately sized cluster of worlds located to spinward and coreward of the Confederation of United Worlds, and coreward of the Cronosian Empire. A very territorial species, the Artathi fiercely defend their worlds from any and all trespassers. The Artathi had a history of conflict with Terra, as the two species fought a series of interstellar wars between them during the early stages of space exploration. As the Artathi continue to prosper, population pressure has forced the cat-like race to expand the borders of the Pride Worlds, bringing them into increased conflict with other interstellar governments.

Standing just over two meters tall, Arthathi resemble a humanoid lion in appearance, covered with a thin tawny coat and displaying leonine facial features. Descended from predators, the Artathi have excellent night vision, with functional claws that make even an unarmed Artathi a very dangerous opponent. As a species, the Artathi are organized into competitive clans, possess a strict code of honor and maintain very strict gender roles. Their strong sense of territoriality and intolerance has created the perception of the Artathi as a prejudiced, war-like species that live by pride and conquest.

I have one more article to share on the antagonists of the Stellar Quest setting, the blue-skinned Rromani, and then I can move on to other elements of the setting.

Enjoy,
Flynn

The Madlands Campaign: The Artathi...

Good Morning, All:

In continuing to develop the races of my future Madlands Campaign, I decided to abandon the vanaran monkey-man concept, given that the Madlands are effectively the great plains region of Cameria, and went back to basics. In the process of reviewing Fantasy Flight Games's Mythic Races, I found the Artathi, a race of cat-men well suited for life on the savannah-esque plains of the Madlands. Borrowing the core concept of the race, I came up with the following translation for Swords & Wizardry.

Artathi
The Artathi are a proud race of felinids who live upon and rule on the vast plains of central Cameria now known as the Madlands. While most resemble a humanoid lion in appearance, covered with a thin tawny coat and leonine facial features, other sub-races of Artathi exist that resemble other species of large cats. As a rule, the Artathi are very close to humans in terms of average height and weight, and possess a similar lifespan. A very proud race, the Artathi are easily insulted by others, and tend to react poorly to such efforts.
Ability Requirements: Artathi characters must have a minimum Dexterity score of 9, and a maximum Intelligence of 17.
Character Advancement: Artathi characters may progress as Fighting-Men and Clerics (from the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules, or as Crusaders, Rangers and Thieves (from the Hammersong's Legacy Campaign Setting). They may advance as high as eighth level as a Fighting-Man, Ranger or Thief, or up to sixth level as a Cleric or Crusader.
Weapon/Armor Restrictions: While the Artathi do no suffer any restrictions on armor or weapons, they prefer simple, primitive weapons and very lightweight armor that does not hinder their movement.
Low-Light Vision: The Artathi possess the ability to see in poor lighting conditions. They ignore any penalties from darkness, except in conditions of total darkness.
Natural Weapon (Claws): The Artathi may use their sharp claws to deal damage equivalent to a dagger (1d4).
Saving Throws: The Artathi are incredibly nimble and gain a +4 on saving throws to avoid effects that target an area instead of an individual. They do not gain this bonus when wearing armor heavier than leather.
Languages: For campaigns that give each race its own dialect, the Artathi should be able to speak with other tribes in the area, as well as humans, orcs, gnolls, and goblins.

In terms of Savage Worlds, the following stats would probably work pretty well:

Artathi
The Artathi are a proud race of felinids who live upon and rule on the vast plains of central Cameria now known as the Madlands. While most resemble a humanoid lion in appearance, covered with a thin tawny coat and leonine facial features, other sub-races of Artathi exist that resemble other species of large cats. As a rule, the Artathi are very close to humans in terms of average height and weight, and possess a similar lifespan. A very proud race, the Artathi are easily insulted by others, and tend to react poorly to such efforts.
Artathi Racial Traits:
* Agile: As a race, Artathi are naturally quite dextrous. They start with a d6 in Agility.
* Claws: Str+d4.
* Proud: The Artathi are easily insulted by others, and tend to react poorly to such efforts. They suffer a -2 penalty when attempting to resist Taunts, and must win an opposed Spirit trait check to avoid attacking those that successfully taunt them.
* Common Languages: Trade, Artathi

Hope This Helps,
Flynn