Azri Drakara Sector Sourcebook - Seeking your input...

[Flynn]

Good Morning:

As many of you know, I've been working on a new campaign setting called the Azri Drakara sector. It is my hope to wrap things up and present it this month. Sadly, my original plans of having a full 128-200 page manuscript ready turned out to be too much, too soon. However, it does look good for a 48-64 page basic module, which I can then support with additional small PDF products geared towards specific and special interests, and continue with my original intentions to create the Flynn's Guide to Robots and other supplements I had announced last year.

As I put in the final work to bring it all together, is there anything you would like to see in an overview product for the Azri Drakara sector that I might be able to work in during the next week or two?

Thanks in Advance,
Jason "Flynn" Kemp

 

[Flynn]

Here's what I have so far in terms of content:

* Basic racial traits for the aliens that call Azri Drakara their home
* Basic history of the sector
* Basic overview of the interstellar polities of the sector
* Astrographic data for the sector, including maps and UWPs
* Some notes on character generation, including a campaign-specific Life Events table and a table of Homeworlds from the setting itself
* A small section of adventure possibilities to help inspire the Referee
* A collection of Library Data for the setting

Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see in this book, or in terms of support material.

Also, in evaluating the state of another project, it is closer to completion than this document (if barely), and so I may move Azri Drakara back to November, in order to get out a new Flynn's Guide this month. (More on that one later...)

Thanks In Advance, All,
Flynn

 

[EDG]

It's kinda hard to suggest things, given that this is a new setting (presumably it's not OTU, right?). What you've got in your list seems to be mostly what I'd expect from a new setting, though maybe you could add a technology section where you discuss equipment, vehicles and spacecraft?

 

[Flynn]

You are correct; this setting is not the Imperial setting of the OTU. It is located about seven or eight sectors rimward of Earth, and is set around 4000 CE. I'm keeping the background vague enough that an enterprising Referee could use it in their own variant Imperial campaign, tying the two together, but beyond that, I'm working more towards building a new setting than continuing the Imperial setting. (I think Mongoose can do a great job in that direction, and I think this is what they were hoping for when they created the Traveller OGL in the first place.) Creating Azri Drakara simply gives me freedom to pursue storylines and product development that fit my personal interests, without having to constrain myself to the Imperial setting and its core conceits. Hopefully, in the process, I can come up with products that people can use in their own games, no matter what their campaign background might be.

As with most space opera-inspired science fiction, there are similarities between the various races and certain archetypes found in other science fiction settings, both literary and roleplaying. The reptilian Drakarans possess a strong warrior culture, and are fiercely territorial. The temperate Methusans take a "big picture" approach to handling issues through manipulating events, a product of their longer lifespan. The Disciplined are a human offshoot that practices and embraces psionics, and whose attempts at starting a Civil War (the Psycher's War, as dubbed by the media) has caused significant tension between the Dracosian Republic and the pro-psionic worlds of the Covenant of Discipline. The chaotic Vollym use genetic engineering and biotech to embrace change and entropy in the universe. The enigmatic Sybrants fulfill the role of an elder race, having born witness to the acts of the Progenitor races of the very distant past. The xenophobic Kagrosians are either truly paranoid, or their babbling about an ancient evil may actually hold some truth. The use of classic racial archetypes allows products created for the Azri Drakara setting to be useful (with minor changes, understandably) in other campaigns, whether they are based in the Imperial setting or another.

Many of the Flynn's Guide products will continue to have a generic focus, although specific examples or flavor text may reference the Azri Drakara setting, simply because flavor text needs a background and I can't use the Imperial setting for that background.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[Flynn]

Oh, I almost forgot: I like the suggestion of having a small technology section, particularly as the Vollym use biotech. This would be a great place to introduce the organic technology of the Vollym, and provide some basic gear and vehicles (including a living ship or two).

And yes, while I realize that organic techology may not be very realistic, scientifically speaking, I love the concept of it, and of the adventuring possibilities it holds, particularly from a horror aspect. While Azri Drakara will not be a horror-based setting, I definitely want to allow aspects to exist that can be used that way. Hence, I have introduced the presence of the Vollym and their inability to conceive of biologically changing themselves or others (with or without their permission) as wrong.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[FreeTrav]

If it's not too late to chime in on this, let me suggest that the practice of psionics is, as suggested in the Classic Traveller Alien Module for the Zhodani, going to have both technological and social effects. You should definitely include some basic info on both - and some detail on some of the tech - in your overview of the psionic society. Further expansion on the idea can come in a later add-on that focusses on them.

 

[EDG]

And yes, while I realize that organic techology may not be very realistic, scientifically speaking, I love the concept of it, and of the adventuring possibilities it holds, particularly from a horror aspect.

Why wouldn't it be realistic? We're already doing it on a small scale with genetic engineering.

 

[BP]

With EDG on this one - delve into our own bio-system and organic tech is definitely believable (nature has done some pretty wild stuff)...

Look at the technical wonder of an individual cell much less the human body - the molecular, chemical and electrical technology still far exceeds our best efforts - much less can we explain a great deal in sufficient detail to replicate what we do 'know'...

As someone who enjoys Hard sci-fi - organic tech fits rather well - consider the extreme environs of space - heating/cooling and radiation damage - things our bodies handle quite nicely (though in our current atmosphere). I can easily extend the possibility of organic tech controlling electric fields, magnetism and light (consider electric eels, fireflys, geomagnetic field detection in birds and other animals) for propulsion, defense, sensors, etc.

Laser, masers, radar, etc. are all concievable possible from organic structures (nature even produces laser in stars). Kinetic and chemical weapons are obvious.

And of course construction and energy production (we eat food and create heat, electrical fields and we produce offspring).

As for FTL and Gravitics - organic means (even naturally evovled) is just as believable if not more so... (consider nature is ahead of us so far in every way).

 

[phavoc]

Since you have a number of races, I agree with the person who mentioned about the technology (sorry, not quoting!). Since their types of technology vary so much, it would give each race more differentiation by providing more background and general design philosphies about each race. For example the Russians tend to build ships that have a lot of weapons stacked on them. They look very menancing, but once they blow their wad, their offensive capability really declines. American naval philosphy tends towards balanced units that have the capabilty of staying in action.

So if you could for each race, talk about their design philosphy - are they missile happy? Fighter happy? small vs. large ships? etc. That way when you (and players) start in the sector they'll be able to populate the spaceways with vessels of the right technology and designs.

Maybe those funny bio-people have a thing about right-angles and none of their ships ever have them.. or the psionic guys always build dual-hull because it reminds them of 2 halves of their brain... you can see how little things like that help make it more fun and add some realism to our fantasy.

good luck!

 

[Flynn]

Thanks, guys. I will definitely expand on that section then. I probably won't include entire design systems, simply because of a time crunch, but I can definitely give some general guidelines and some basic foundations. It should be fun.

Thanks, Everyone, for your input. I appreciate it a lot.

With Regards,
Flynn