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Post by easye on Jul 5, 2019 21:43:40 GMT
Greetings,
I was looking at my bookshelf of games, and got a bit of a hankering to bulk out some VSF style games for my concept folder. I had a couple of concepts to think about and wanted your thought on....
1. Some sort of Sky Galleons of Mars type flying ship quasi-fantasy/steampunk VSF game.
2. Land battleships of Mars. Sort of like When the navy walked typed game or Spartans Armored Clash. Army-scale in nature
3. VSF colonial scale skirmish similar to The Men Who Would Be Kings/Rebels and Patriots but with more VSF to it
So my question is two fold:
1. What makes a good VSF game on Mars? Mechanics and must have genre elements?
2. What are some good resources too look at for Inspiration?
Thanks everyone!
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Post by madmorgan on Jul 9, 2019 18:56:11 GMT
I highly recommend two books - Steampunk Soldiers Uniforms & Weapons From the Age of Steam and
it's companion Steampunk Soldiers The American Frontier.
They are filled with color plates and descriptions of the weapons, uniforms, etc. of a wide range of nations. Complete with explanations of their various conflicts, I found them to be inspiring and very well thought out - much like hardback Osprey books. Except for chapter pages, there is a plate and a description on each pair of pages. You couldn't do better for Inspiration.
For the other items, I'd suggest a look at Games Workshop old Man O' War series of models/rules for flyers and Men O' War series of models/rules for sea battles.
Also, now defunct Spartian Games of Dystopia - both the 'epic' scale and 28mm scale could provide rules/figures to work with. Good luck & I look forward to what you work out.
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Post by boxholder on Jul 12, 2019 23:20:30 GMT
The SPACE 1889 game had a number of books that were excellent source material for the Victoriean Era. Now they are out of print, but probably available as used items.
They also had a number of pre-fab adventures to start the juices flowing. Characters, settings, steam technologies, the whole thing.
I will have to think on that makes a good VSF storyline. It is not an easy job to create one from scratch. But the features that make up a good adventure story should carry over from any genre. You may be able to modify one.
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Post by madmorgan on Jul 13, 2019 8:42:33 GMT
Slap my head - yes of coarse, one of my all time favorites - Space 1889 was a good game on its own. And a fun source as well. Good call! I'll did up my copy if you can't find the game & copy the books for you if needed.  |
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Post by boxholder on Jul 13, 2019 12:25:15 GMT
GURPS from Steve Jackson games also has several Steampunk themed source books and adventures
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Post by madmorgan on Jul 15, 2019 9:47:33 GMT
Yes, Steve had a good handle on gaming with his excellent GURPS system. That game system came a long ways from its start as MELEE and WIZARD. My gaming group in KY way back when had a great time gaming those two old system but rewarding systems. I had the honor of sitting at a convention (escapes me which one now) behind a table reading the original proofs to GURPS. Steve was always a great fellow and totally committed to his gaming line. I still have a slew of his excellent CARDBOARD HEROES, which I used for my early D&D games before the plastic miniatures became available.
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Post by easye on Jul 24, 2019 17:04:19 GMT
Thanks guys.... like I said it is in my "concept folder" so it may never get beyond there and into the light of day.... |
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Post by boxholder on Jul 26, 2019 20:53:09 GMT
easye:
Not ignoring your question, but it takes some cogitation on what does make a good game from any era. Will be back when I have something substantive to contribute..
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Post by boxholder on Jul 30, 2019 12:29:49 GMT
Easye:
Some thoughts on VSF gaming. The bits are random gatherings, stream of consciousness. I don't intend that all these are required, but are some starters based on reading stories that work.
Retro-technology: Technology of today back-dated Victorian era. Relatable to today, but much less predictable in operation. Things operate on mechanical, steam, animal or inexplicable mechanisms.. Danger of malfunction or misuse Electrical stuff is still largely mysterious and hazardous. Some things that should not work, do work! Some things operate intermittently. Some are pure scams. No swords and sorcery - mental/psychic may be OK in limited cases.
Atmosphere: Settings are generally ominous. Dank, dark streets of London or New York or other city. Or Gothic looking industrial areas. Oppressive. Sewers (like Paris, Vienna, London). Caverns, Swamps. Jungles. Arctic wastelands. Inexplicable things are happening. Dreadful conjunctions of technology and nature and people. Strangers watching from the shadows, but are never there. Narrow escapes from harrowing fates. Traps and tricks to be avoided, but sometimes fallen for, leading to...
Tasks: Investigate strange happenings. Defeat an imminent threat to humanity or to civilization or to a person. Rescue someone or something. Discover new technology. Uncover or rediscover an old technology. Figure out how to use a strange technology/weapon/capability. Progressive revelation as investigation continues. Fit the pieces together. Surprises, Dead ends. Dangers in travel or operations. Things may seem trivial at first but grow in difficulty or complexity. Overcoming difficulty or dangers. "McGiver" your way out of trouble using things in unplanned ways.
Characters: Leading character strong in some way (brilliant, physically,, perceptive,etc) but struggling with some weakness (impulsive, clumsy, not so bright). Similarly, the villain. Auxiliary characters help or impede the hero. Add color or quirkiness. Or surprising capabilities emerge. Possibly due to unlikely combinations of characters or skills - look at the movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or the latest Sherlock Holmes movies.
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Post by easye on Aug 6, 2019 16:08:03 GMT
Interesting thoughts guys.
Characters are always interesting when trying to add them to a wargame.
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Post by madmorgan on Aug 9, 2019 10:05:19 GMT
Maybe a system like in His Majesties Secret Service where you roll or assign point to positive attributes (sword skill, pistol skill, strength, etc.) whilst off setting the cost with negative attributes (drunkard, reckless, poor shot, etc.)?
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Post by paulnippress on Aug 11, 2019 20:36:41 GMT
The SPACE 1889 game had a number of books that were excellent source material for the Victoriean Era. Now they are out of print, but probably available as used items. They also had a number of pre-fab adventures to start the juices flowing. Characters, settings, steam technologies, the whole thing. I will have to think on that makes a good VSF storyline. It is not an easy job to create one from scratch. But the features that make up a good adventure story should carry over from any genre. You may be able to modify one. Having got the vast majority of the old Space 1889 stuff, it always struck me as a very well researched game from a background point of view, with a lacklustre rules system. There was an excellent article years ago entitled Cthulhu 1889, which combined the fluff of Space 1889 with the CoC rules, which worked well (and combined two of my favourite games). They have been doing the revamped Space 1889 recently (another Kickstarter I just had to have), but I haven't as yet got into it in any detail. Worth checking out. And Sky Galleons of Mars will always be one of my most favourite games... it works so well!! |
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