Topic: Planetary Romances

[PhillipAEllis]

G'day!

By planetary romances, I don't mean Mars and Venus getting it on, but, rather, settings like ERB's Mars novels, where the planet is the excuse & setting for high adventure.

How well would you say that the spacemaster rulesset can be adapted, could be adapted, and possibly should be adapted to give that sort of a pulp-tastic adventure setting? Would be something you'd pick up and play with, maybe adapt to your campaign setting for some interplanetary adventures?

What do you feel?

[markc]

 I think SM:P can be adapted to any idea people have. Now an exploration/mapping adventure can be fun and can involve many concepts but it really depends on the depth of the setting and reasons why the adventures are there. That is IMHO.
MDC

[arakish]

Actually it is relatively easy.  I did have one ship captain that literally had a "girl in every port".

Of course, the hardest part is being a ship's captain and knowing you cannot just settle down without resigning.  And then the resignation may even be refused, then you become a deserter.

Planetary romances.  Lots of fun can be had.  Of course, lots of heartbreak too.

rmfr

[JimiSue]

Lots of fun can be had.  Of course, lots of heartbreak too.

I had a player that did this - I went to town and made up detailed files on all of the ladies in question - they all had different (but sometimes similar!) likes and preferences... it was fun for me watching the player try to remember it all (naturally without notes - it's hard to do romance when using prompt cards!) and not offend any of them. And when he failed, much fun!

[RandalThor]

OK, I am assuming that you want to know how to do a SM game in the vein of Planetary Romance (PR - which is what I have always thought it was called, though many are now calling it Swords & Planets), and not how to just have more romance in your game.

The characters in PR are larger than life, well above average individuals; both physically and mentally (particularly in their mental fortitude). Flash Gordon was not just some random football player, he was considered one of the very best at the time; Dr. Zarkov was not just your average scientist, he was an absolutely brilliant one working on the cutting edge, and Dale Arden wasn't just pretty, she was beautiful and pretty-smart and physically capable, as well. To reflect this in SM, they need higher than average stats and talents that grant them bonuses in their specialties; because the bad-guys are over the top and only those who can equal them have a chance. So, to reflect this in a naturally gritty game such as SM, you need to grant the characters more stat points off the top and allow more of a free hand in talent allocation. This will help the characters be exceptional and not just your average, or slightly above-average, individual.

Example: Instead of the 660 stat points (or the 600+10d10), go with 750 to 800. And for potential, allow one or two to be 100 or a few points above that, like up to 102 or 103, or just allow them 2 rolls and choose the best. This is to ensure their potentials are exceptional, too.

With talents, grant them a certain amount of free points (don't be stingy, here), and the option of taking a few flaws for more. This will help the characters be the pinnacle of their chosen fields - which they are supposed to be in this genre. 

[Wolfhound]

I agree with RandalThor.  The same was also true with the hero's in the ERB books (regardless of which series of books, Tarzan (even though he doesn't really fall into the PR category) for example was practically like Superman or Chuck Norris in his physical abilities (okay, maybe not such good examples, after all everyone knows that Chuck Norris could kick Superman's butt), while John Carter was moderately intelligent and extremely physically fit (and the gravity difference just added to his already astounding abilities there); likewise Gordon King (again not really a PR story, but more like the Tarzan books), David Innes, and Carson Napier were all also pretty incredible heroic types).

But with some adjusting of the stats and extra talents, and maybe allowing the characters some extra leeway in pulling off amazing feats (kind of like Fudge Points or whatever their equivalent was called in HARP, for being able to add a little Umpf to important attempts to pull off amazing actions), SM could probably work pretty well in my opinion. 

[RandalThor]

But with some adjusting of the stats and extra talents, and maybe allowing the characters some extra leeway in pulling off amazing feats (kind of like Fudge Points or whatever their equivalent was called in HARP, for being able to add a little Umpf to important attempts to pull off amazing actions), SM could probably work pretty well in my opinion. 

Fate Points. Yeah, giving the PCs a few extra of these is a good idea.

One thing I forgot to mention: Levels. In a game like SM with levels, they cannot start out at 1st level, because that insinuates that they are newbies to, well, everything - life in general. In Planetary Romance, they were skilled and experienced in their chosen fields.

Using the previous example of Flash Gordon, I would start them out like so:

Flash Gordon = Athlete/15th level
Zarkov = Scientist /20th
Dale Arden = Reporter /15th (though for a character like her in SM I would go with either Layman or technician and just assign the skills appropriately.)

Planetary Romance is really high-action and adventure, perhaps HARP Scifi would serve you better.

[NanoEther]

Depends on how many talent/background points you give them, and if you give them extra hobby ranks or free points to buy training packages. They may have the xp of a 1st level, but they will be much more capable. And if it's mostly an RP game, then they can really target their skill points into the characters important skills.
Depending on how the game starts you can state that the characters are still adjusting from deep sleep/reconstruction/transportation.

[markc]

 I have also found that it depends on the level vs level (PC's vs the VS.) and how much help the PC's can bring about from other fronts such as fame, power, $, contacts, etc.
MDC