31 Questions For Barking Alien - Phase II - Question 2

This next question comes from my good friend Miguel de Rojas, who has come all the way from Spain to provide us with this inquiry! Via the internet that is.

In your Star Wars games, do you follow Legends or Disney's timeline? Or do you disregard both to to make your own? What are your feelings about the prequels and the sequels?

And finally, maybe worth splitting into a second question, do you have any favorite "obscure" Star Wars work, besides Visions?

This could get complicated but I'm going to try to keep it focused and trust in The Force.

All my Star Wars games follow the same basics rule:

First, Star Wars is a Fantasy Fairytale set in Space. It is not Science Fiction. 

Second, The Original Trilogy - Star Wars [Episode IV: A New Hope], The Empire Strikes Back [Episode V], Return of the Jedi [Episode VI] - happened. That is the only definitive absolute canon that matters. Everything else - EVERYTHING - is apocryphal after that in my mind.  

Many, though not all, of the materials from Star Wars The Roleplaying Game (Star Wars D6) by West End Games are part of my gaming headcanon and considered to exist within the universe of my campaigns. 

I generally ignore any and all 'Legends' material. Components may creep into my games here there but for the most part none of it exists within my Sta Wars RPG headcanon. 

I generally accept the events of the Prequels but mostly in broad strokes, preferring to be vague on the details and allowing for or ignoring them on a case by case basis. I was not a fan of the Prequels and I am still not. They are, unfortunately, a major touchstone for many people when thinking of Star Wars as a whole and so I allow for them. 

I generally accept the events of the Clone Wars Animated Series in a similar fashion, though I very much enjoyed the Clone Wars. 

I generally accept the events of the Star Wars: Rebels Animated Series as it is one of my favorite productions in the entire franchise. The one possible exception is the existance of Grand Admiral Thrawn, though I will address that further on.

I generally ignore the Sequels. I might use a species or technology (a BB Droid for example) but for the most part that entire era and all the characters involved are irrelevant to my games.  

I generally ignore Rogue One as I did not care for it and I feel it weakens the first Star Wars film. Elements of it are excepted but I don't use the film, its events, or its characters for the most part.

Star Wars: Resistance the Animated Series is generally ignored, although I may borrow ideas and elements from it. I initially really liked it but as it went on it became more and more meandering and eventually meaningless. As I don't care for the Sequels, this story set in the same era is of no use to me. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story is for the most part completely ignored. 

I generally accept the first two seasons of The Mandalorian as, again, I am a fan of that work and I feel it fits my style of play rather well. 

I generally ignore the Bad Batch Animated Series but will use elements from it here and there. I wasn't a big fan of the show. It started out kind of interesting but it ended up  wasting most of its potential and spent too much little time on its best characters and qualities. 

I accept Andor and that may sound strange considering how I feel about and treat Rogue One but the former was an incredibly well executed series with some of the most interesting characters in the setting. 

I largely ignored The High Republic publishing initiative and do no have a strong opinion on it one way or another. It has [had] very little if any impact on my games. 

I have not made a final decision on the Ahsoka series but I am leaning towards generally ignoring it. I might use aliens, devices, or other things from it but overall I did not like it very much and was extremely disappointed by its handling of the Rebels characters who are, as noted, among my absolute favorites. 

The Acolyte was not a thing. It didn't happen. You can go about your business. Move along. Move along. 

I generally accept Skeleton Crew, though I have yet to really utilize much from it in my campaigns. 

Finally, while I can appreciate his role in the Star Wars: Rebels series, the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of my least favorite Star Wars things ever created. His very presence in a book, show, or other media immediately takes me out of it being 'real Star Wars'. While I will put up with him being there and not immediately write off the production he appears in, Thrawn, his species the Chiss, and most of the other particulars related to him do not exist in my Star Wars RPG headcanon. 

As for the second question/part of the inquiry...

I can't say I have a favorite 'obscure' Star Wars project or product. I have a number of things I've liked across the many decades of comic books, novels, video and computer games, etc. but no particular thing stands out as a favorite. I do have a soft spot for the Droids Animated Cartoon from 1985. I always found that series fun. 

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Coming To Save The World This Summer

It's June 8th, 2025 - Happy Ghostbusters Day to one and all!

For a month or more prior to the release of the film posters with the Ghostbusters 'No Ghost' logo appeared in train stations, in movie theaters, and in a variety of all places. No one [I knew] had any idea what they were for. 

Eventually they were replaced by the poster you see above, the mysterious emblem accompanied by the words, 'Coming To Saving the World This Summer'. My grandfather, a theater manager, didn't get the film in his movie house but it did show in one of his previous locations with whom he was on very good terms. 

Through this connection my younger sister and I went to go see it together, just the two of us as I recall, at the Kings Highway Theater in Brooklyn, NY. We got in free since we were 'Al's Grandkids'. I would've been 15 years old and my sister about 10. I don't recall if it was opening day but I do remember I was one of the first among my friend group to have seen it.

That was 41 years ago and I've been an avid fan of the franchise and especially that first film ever since. 

Yesterday was the celebration of Ghostbusters Day at Hook and Ladder No. 8 in Downtown Manhattan (New York City, NY), the real world working firehouse that serves as the Ghostbusters HQ in the films. I was down there myself last year and I hopefully will be there next year but unfortunately, for various reasons, I wasn't able to attend myself in 2025. 

Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman and current head producer and writer for the GB franchise, was there along with Carrie Coon and McKenna Grace of Afterlife and Frozen Empire. Serving as ambassadors of good will between the studio and the fans (and doing an awesome job!), the event featured music, walking tours of the film locations, product announcements, and lots of people in incredible cosplay. Oh and the Ecto vehicles! The Ecto Vehicles! Absolutely awesome!

Last but far from least, Sony Pictures teamed with Ghost Corps and the massive collection of fandom franchises to initiate 'Ghostbusters Give Back', a year long competitive charity drive wherein Sony will match donations up to $150,000. You can learn more about this here and at the Ghostbusters Give Back hub.

The various Ghostbusters Fan Club 'Franchises' across the USA and the world have long been involved with charity events and fundraisers. This is not only an extension of that tradition but yet another example of how well the Ghostbusters IP partners with those who love it, something other studios could learn a lot from. 

I do wish they'd given us more details on some of the upcoming film and animation projects but I feel like that will be coming soon enough as the Annecy International Film Festival begins today.

You'll definitely be seeing some Ghostbusters RPG ideas from me in October but keep an eye out; you never know when and where a paranormal imanifestation will appear. When it does...Who You Gonna Call?

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31 Questions for Barking Alien - Question 15

This is Question I5 of 31 and it might be my last for the month of December.

Work, life, and the holidays have gotten in the way, making it difficult to finish, let alone catch up to where I should be by this time.

Fret not! I sure won't. Not this time. 

The whole point of this endeavor you see was to light a fire of inspiration under me and it has done just that. December has the most posts I've put up in one month since back in August. Usually when I do these blog challenges I don't hit my goal and end up feeling bad about it. This has been and is very different. Here the goal was never 'to win'; I never prioritzed completing 31 answers to 31 questions. Rather, the objective was to 'get better engagement with the viewers/readers of the blog by interacting with them more and using said interactions to fuel my desire to post more often'. I feel I've accomplished that.

I've seen more responses and comments these past four weeks then I have in a long while. Again, I've also posted more this month than I have in the past three months combined! I'm mentally cataloging this as a success and it has me itching to prep for next month in advance. 

With all that, here is Question #15 - it comes from my friend Miguel de Rojas, who has my sword, my bow, and my axe but remember, I'm just lending them to you. I need them back. 

For a guy with such love for IPs and a stated interest in medieval Europe's myth, legend, and folklore (not to mention RPGs), The Lord of the Rings is conspicuously absent from your blog. Can you explain your relationship with Tolkien's works?

As Gandalf himself once said, “The wise speak only of what they know.”

I don't really know Middle-Earth. Not the way I feel I would need to in order to run it.

I discovered the Hobbit after first playing D&D and The Lord of the Rings sometime after the Hobbit. It took me a while to get through all three books of Tolkien's trilogy but get through them I did and yeah, I really enjoyed them. Those books started my interest in reading more Fantasy books of the Appendix N variety.

Thing was, there wasn't more Lord of the Rings after Lord of the Rings (at least not that I knew of at the time). At the end of the story, the tale has been told.  After the original Star Trek series there was the Animated Series, comic books, novels, later movies, and further on there'd be much more material across many different forms of media. The same is true of Star Wars, Marvel and DC Comics, and a host of other franchises.

Lord of the Rings impressed me but it was all there was to it. After a while it fell off my radar. It was never my all time favorite thing. It wasn't something that I really wanted or needed more of and that was fine because there really wasn't more to be had.

It was also a story that didn't (and to some extent still doesn't for me) lend itself to continuing. It was a set story with some unique characters and we know (largely) their final fates. There are a specific and very limited number of Mages and we know what happens to them (for the most part). Frodo (and to a lesser degree Bilbo) was rare and truehearted enough to carry the One Ring and again, he accomplished the goal of destroying it and had a happily ever after of sorts.

I mean, the LotR series focuses on 'The One Ring'. There's only one. It's in the name. We know who was part of the one Fellowship that went to rid the world of the One Ring and the events that ultimately did so.

It's what I tend to refer to as a Closed Story or Closed Setting. Star Trek, as an easy example, is an Open Setting. We learn there are other ships, with other crews, doing other things. It's inherent in the make up of the franchise's universe. Lord of the Rings feels more 'closed'; a single, specific group did a single, specific thing with a singular object. The End. Star Trek doesn't have a The End. It keeps on keeping on.

Part of that is because Star Trek is indeed a franchise, an IP, not a story. There isn't one book or trilogy called Star Trek. There will always be Superman comics. Star Wars could theoretically go on forever as well. Lord of the Rings just doesn't have that feel. 

Personally I never loved it enough to learn all the details and complicated history of its world. There are many people, including several of my gaming friends, who know far more about the setting then I. This puts me at a considerable disadvantage as a GM. I wouldn't mind playing in that world for a short while though. 

Lastly, while Middle-Earth might be influenced by European folklore and myth, it isn't Ars Magica. It's its own animal and one that I am less confident about adding my own stuff to, a key necessity when running in an established IP. 

I liked the Peter Jackson movies more than I ever did the books. I also enjoyed the animated film way back when. That's about as far as my love of Tolkien's creation exists for me today.

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31 Questions for Barking Alien - Question 8

Space...The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of...well...ALOT of characters! No really! There have been 8 different live action shows, 3 animated series, and 13 separate movies. Wow. That is incredible when you think about it. What other franchise has even close to that? 

How do I rate these and how much do they affect my games?

Question #8 from Starfleet Commandant Miguel de Rojas.

How do you rate each Star Trek show and why? I can add a second part to better fit the theme: Which ones, or elements of them, are the greatest influences in your Star Trek games?

Ah Star Trek, my favorite setting in which to run a roleplaying game campaign. I've run more Star Trek TRPG sessions than those of any other kind of game. It all originated with my exposure to the franchise before it was a franchise and my purchase of Star Trek The Role Playing Game by FASA, the first RPG I bought purely by myself with my own money. . 

On to the mission at hand...

#1. Star Trek - The Original TV Series (1966-1969) Top Rated

It's hard to sum up why I love The Original Series so much. As a kid, it just pressed all the buttons I had governing my love of outer space, Science Fiction, and storytelling. It was a television series that featured people in uniforms belonging to an instituation (like my father, a policeman) that explored the galaxy (I was already an astronomy nut). What could be cooler? Plus, one of the crew members - one of the Good Guys - was an alien! Wow! Star Trek just opened up my world to all sorts of other books, comics, TV shows, and movies about space exploration and a positive future. 

I am going to place the TOS Star Trek Films - The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, and The Undiscovered Country - and Star Trek: The Animated Series as part of Star Trek's Original Series. These are, to me at least, an extension of the first show and intrinsically connected to it in a way none of the other iterations of Star Trek are. 

Influence on my games: It's everything. I model my Star Trek campaigns on the original series; it is the template on which I build and customize what I am running for my players. I pick and chose bits and bobs from the others but The Original Series in the skeleton and musculature holding the whole thing up and keeping it together. 

#2. Deep Space Nice (1993-1999) Second Favorite

Deep Space Nice is my second favorite Star Trek series, though it rarely has much direct influence on my games (see below). This is because I appreciate the series for its excellent writing, acting, likeable characters, and incredible action, especially in its epic space battles. However, since the storyline of the Dominion War runs throughout most of the shows run, the series has little direct barring on my person view of and interest in Star Trek. I love Star Trek for its exploration, big ideas, and positive view of the future, which DS9 bends and twists quite a bit. Were the show not so well done, I likely would have hated it (*Cough-Discovery-Cough*).

Influence on my games: I have taken elements of DS9 such a species, ships, and some references to the events from the series and used them for narrative purposes but the overall themes and storylines presented in the show aren't ones I often want to focus on. You'll find this a fairly common approach by me going forward. 

#3. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-2024) Third Favorite

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love comedy. Humor to me is not only fun, its an artform. From the various comedies and comedians I've watched and read over the years I've developed skills in scene direction, timing, character development, and many other components of an entertaining story. 

Aside from loving this show's vibe, characters, designs, and many other elements, its given me new ways to interpret and express aspects of the Star Trek universe.

Influence on my games: While I would love to run a long term 'Lower Decks' campaign (we've done short campaigns and one-shots), I think all of my games benefit from the change in perspective that this series provides. I also like the starships and aliens. 

#4. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) Fourth Favorite

Now I know my placing Lowers Decks over The Next Generation is kind of odd. I get it. Lower Decks wouldn't, maybe couldn't, exist without TNG. True...but hear me out.

When TNG first came out it was...not great. Honestly it made no sense to me that they set it so far in the future from the point of the TOS Movies. They had all the sets, props, uniforms, etc. You could have just picked a new ship with a new crew and explored new stories (Ya'know, like a Star Trek RPG campaign). Then there was the characters who I couldn't get into, the stories which weren't that great, and yeah, it didn't do it for me.

Over time, The Next Generation grew on me. By the end of its run, I really liked it. Data and Picard are among my favorite Star Trek characters in the entire franchise.   

Influence on my games: Original Star Trek sees us encounter alien beings who are doing something harmful to themselves or others. We arrive and help them see a better way of doing things. TNG has us encounter aliens and see in them a flaw about ourselves. Sometimes the aliens and the Starfleet characters come to terms with this and other times they teach us a lesson. That's a key difference between old and new Star Trek. While I touch on the latter sometimes, my stories tend to lean more towards the former because my players have traditionally been good, open-minded, welcoming, positive people. 

Some of the aliens, worlds, starships, equipment, and ideas introduced in TNG are excellent and see use in my campaigns. All except the Galaxy Class, which is possibly my least favorite Star Trek ship design ever. 

#5. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-2024) Fifth Favorite 

I joke about this with my friends all the time but Prodigy was sooo much better than it had any right to be. It was a 'kid's show' largely influenced by Star Trek: Voyager (see below). Like TNG, this took a little while to hook me but once it did, damn this series became fire (as the young people say). 

Influence on my games: Like Lower Decks, Prodigy gave me a different perspective on the Star Trek universe, what can be done with it, and how to pull it off. My games have definitely been enhanced by the lessons I've learned from this show. This is especially true in terms of action and personal combat. 

#6. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) Sixth Favorite

Oh Enterprise, what a wonderful show you could have been. Unfortunately, much of the potential of this series was wasted on storylines that went nowhere and trying too hard to connect it to the Next Generation time period (Ferengi, Borg, Klingons - OK, the latter Klingon material was pretty good). The show was pretty good in the very beginning and got downright excellent at the end but it was too little too late. 

It did give us a lot more stories and information about my favorite Star Trek species, the Andorians, with the incomparable Jeffery Combs as the feature character of Shran. For that, it has my eternal gratitude. 

Influence on my games: The main thing this show did for my Star Trek gaming was to show me how not to introduce and execute adventures. It also gave me ways to introduce and explore characters that both worked and didn't so I could get better at doing it myself. 

Very few ships, aliens, and other such elements from this series play any part in my campaigns. I wasn't a fan of the Suliban or Xindi and I prefer the look of the Daedalus Class and the ships of The Starfleet Museum more than those of an NX-01 style. 

#7. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) was also a show.

Hmm. So...how about those Tribbles, huh? Yeah...Voyager.

I don't like Voyager. I do not activitely despise it the way I do STD and SNW but I really didn't enjoy watching it for the first three or four seasons, even though I did watch it. I remember my girlfriend (now ex-wife) saying to me after one particular episode, "Why do you watch this if it angers you so much?" She had a point and so eventually I stopped and we caught up on our Anime viewing.

Like Enterprise, the idea behind Voyager was sound. It definitely had possibilities. Unfortunately, I personally feel the execution never lived up to the concept. I never grew to like the characters (except the Doctor), didn't like how poorly handled the stories and dialogue were, the Intrepid Class USS Voyager is my second least favorite ship (Galaxy Class is still uglier), and ugh...I just didn't like it. I went back and watched the seasons I'd missed a few years later and it didn't help. 

Influence on my games: Very little. I have used the original 'Series Bible' version of Voyager, which was quite different from what we eventually got on screen. I found some of the ideas in the 'proto-show' really interesting and so they made cool NPCs for a lost ship scenario. It took nearly the whole session before one of the players said, "Wait...is this Voyager? Did you base these guys on Voyager?" That was fun and the most I've gotten out of the show.

As you can see, I haven't included STD, SNW, Picard, or anything in the 'Kelvin Timeline/Abramsverse'. That's because I don't care for any of these series or films. I don't usually think about them at all. They have no influence on my games directly, though elements might appear such as the Kelpian species or a shuttlecraft design. Even those instances are rare.

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31 Questions for Barking Alien - Question 7

Ah, so happy to receive a Ghostbusters question. There aren't enough Ghostbusters questions in the world. Or something. 

Question #7 from the focused, non-terminal, repeating Jonathan Linneman

What media would you put into your ideal singular Ghostbusters head canon? If you prefer a multiverse, how would you break that down?

I am weird about canon. Aren't we all? I mean, we all have our own head canon about our favorite settings, be they franchise/IPs or personal creations. When I run Ghostbusters - moreso than any other Intellectual Property I run as games - I have a very particular head canon in mind.

At the same time, I don't go into detail about this with my players. Part of what makes a licensed RPG work is that the participants can hear about specific elements and go, 'Oh yeah, I know what that is', because they've seen the movies, shows, read the book, etc. So even if I don't use a certain part of the Ghostbusters canon in my games, I don't specifically say it didn't happen or doesn't exist. This is what I call 'Passive Canon'. 

If one of my players wants to address or use a component of the franchise that I haven't addressed, they get to introduce it and now its in what I call 'Active Canon'. That said, I do have my own internal 'Ghostbusters Active Canon Bible' of what is and isn't part of my GB campaigns. 

With all that explained, here is my 'Ideal Singular Ghostbusters Head Canon'; what the world of my Ghostbusters RPG game consists of:

Ghostbusters (The original 1984 film) happened as is. No changes. 

Crossing the Proton Streams to Reverse the Particle Flow through The Transdimensional Gate created a Transdimensional Crossrip that permenantly damaged the barriers separating our universe from those beyond. From this point forward, more supernatural entities and events appear on our plane of existence then ever have before due to it now being easier for them to do so. - Based on dialogue and ideas in The Real Ghostbusters Animated Series, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the fan canon of the Ghostbusters Fan Club 'Franchises', and elsewhere.

The Real Ghostbusters (The animated series that ran from 1986 to 1991) happened, though the exact nature of the events are apocryphal. I'm a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters animated series but make adjustments to some elements to translate them to 'real life' and to coincide with events from other Ghostbusters media. In-universe, the Real Ghostbusters was an animated cartoon dramatizing the Ghostbusters activities between 1985 and 1987.

Sometime between 1987 and 1989 the level of Paranormal Activity dropped significantly. The four Ghostbusters take up other jobs to make ends meet. - Extrapolated from the dialogue and situations at the beginning of Ghostbusters II. 

Ghostbusters II (The second film in 1989) happened, though the exact nature of the events are apocryphal. I'm not a big fan of the film and pick and choose what elements of the movie I confirm to exist in my Active Canon.

Paranormal Activity spikes again and the Ghostbusters become active once more. The proliferation of reported supernatural phenomena is even greater than before and incidents are witnessed nationwide. GB franchises pop up across the United States and eventually in the UK, Japan, and Australia as well. - Background information based on the Ghostbusters Fan Club 'Franchises' and our own Ghostbusters campaigns.

Now here's where things get weird...

Our Ghostbusters: The Home Office campaign started in 1986 with the publishing of the Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games. In that campaign, the PCs are handpicked by the original four Ghostbusters from Franchises all across the US [and one guy from England] to replace them as the field operatives of the company while the OGs manage the corporation. 

This story was set roughly ten years in the future, roughly 1996. Remember that this was 1996 as seen from 1986; Ghostbusters II and everything that came after it (video games, comics, Afterlife, Frozen Empire) weren't a thing at the time. This means that The Home Office campaign is in its own continuity, a separate timeline if you will.

Going back to the question above, Jonathan notes 'If you prefer a multiverse' and the truth is, I don't. I love the idea in other settings but here it kind of puts me off. Not sure why but it just doesn't feel right. Even so, that is where we find ourselves when we run sessions in this campaign world.

Other campaigns I've run haven't addressed the classic Ghostbusters team or events except in the broadest sense. Essentially I approached these games with the mindset of 'You know what Ghostbusters is about right? Great! You guys are Ghostbusters...'. At the same time, I don't generally have 'The Home Office' team be the group back at the home office. In both our Ghostbusters Hoboken (GB NJ) and Ghostbusters Seattle campaigns, the New York team is thought to consist of Venkman, Spengler, Stantz, and Zeddemore. 

In the end, my ideal Ghostbusters Head Canon is somewhat amorphous and fluid. It generally assumes the first film is the cornerstone of a lot of stuff that may or may not have happened. In the meantime, I'm able to cherry pick from the four motion pictures, numerous seasons of cartoons, a host of video games, stacks of comics, and anything else that comes along. 

Yes, I said four films. There have only been four. 

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A Giant Leap for Mankind or A Stumble in the Dark?

Is this an April Fools prank? A hoax? No?? It's real? Really real?

It's not my birthday. It isn't Xmas or Hanukkah. Life Day?

How can this be true? 

Well it is...it definitely is...

Modiphius Entertainment, the makers of my beloved Star Trek Adventurers, have announced that they are making a Space:1999 Roleplaying Game. 

I've brought up Space:1999, the British Science Fiction TV Series, only a few times in the past and as some may remember, that's the tagline for my Thorough Thursdays series. I had always intended to do a Thorough Thursdays about this show but never got around to it much to my dismay. Now I have every reason to do so...only its Saturday. Drat. Oh well, the show must go on! I'm too excited about this to wait until next week. 

I caught the show when it first aired in the US in 1975 and instantly fell in love. It was like a  a cross between Lost in Space and Star Trek, yet distinctly different in setting, plot, and atmosphere from both of those shows. The stories were somewhat darker and more surreal. The science of it was often wonky (Isaac Asimov famously lambasted the 'science' of the series in Cue Magazine in 1975) yet somehow gave off the feeling of being more 'realistic' due to its tone and look. 

I for one ate it up. I had the Mattel Eagle 1 Spaceship (the Eagle Transporter), action figures, the toy prop Stun Gun and Communicator, and even went as a Moonbase Alpha crewman one Halloween (not a store bought costume but a total homebrew - long sleeve colored shirt underneath another white one with one sleeve removed. Vintage/second hand clothes are magic). 

I've always wanted to run a Space:1999 RPG but never have as best I can recall. The series has absolutely influenced many of my Sci-Fi campaigns such as Star Trek, Traveller, Red Dwarf, and more but I have never done a dedicated Space:1999 game. The reasons for this are really three fold:

While I was and am a fan of Space:1999, my working knowledge of the setting and its elements is no where near as strong as those of Star Trek, Star Wars, ALIEN, or Red Dwarf. I would need to re-familiarize myself with the series in a big way in order to feel comfortable running it as a campaign. 

Am I alone in my love for Space:1999? I've seen a lot of people on the internet surprised that Modiphius chose this particular franchise to produce as an RPG. Most noted positive but only vague memories of the show or a hope that some other Gerry Anderson property would be made into a game (most notably UFO or Thunderbirds). My concern now is the same as it was in the past - do enough people know about and like Space:1999 enough for me to find players?

Lastly, the setting focuses on one 'world', Earth's Moon. On it is a single, large base known as Moonbase Alpha which is occupied by 311 crewmembers*. That's kind of limiting when compared to the settings of other modern SF RPGs. In the RPG to come, are you one of the 311 on Alpha? Don't we know we (the Player Characters) aren't the ones in charge unless the players are controlling John Koenig, Helena Russell, or Alan Carter?

The question that comes to mind would be the same one I'd have if I were running a Star Trek campaign set on the original series Enterprise; if we come upon a derelict alien vessel and we're not playing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, how is it that the PCs get to go on a mission to investigate it? If we are assigned to accompany the leads, do the NPCs (again, Kirk, Spock, McCoy) decide what to do? That doesn't sound like fun even though it makes internal sense.

Personally, I am very excited to see this game and will definitely be picking it up. I do hope that the book dedicates a significant portion of the GM section to how you play this given the parameters of the milieu.

Until then, "Loyalty is better than logic; Hope is better than despair; Creation is better than destruction".

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*Between character deaths and new births during the course of the show's two seasons, Moonbase Alpha has approximately 284 occupants (including at least one baby as I recall). 

Savin' The Day

Happy Ghostbusters Day Everybody!

Saturday June 8th was the 40th anniversary of the release of the original Ghostbusters film, a movie near and dear to what passes for my heart. Forty years of bustin' ghosts and feeling good! 

Though my work and life schedules have been crazy again of late, I still managed to go down to the firehouse of Hook & Ladder Company 8 (which doubles as the Ghostbusters HQ in the films) and participate (to some extent) in the celebration held there to commemorate this auspicious occasion. 

It was a blast getting to see and talk to follow fans from all over the country and even a few international visitors. The outfits - complete with amazing Proton Packs, Neutrona Wands, Ghosts Traps, PKE Meters, and more - were incredible to behold! There were at least five different Ecto-Mobiles, from recreations of the original to GB customized alternative car models. Loved the different license plates! 

All in all it was a really fun time and I'm glad I went. There weren't any major announcements about new Ghostbusters projects but teases of a Netflix animated series and more being in the works have been making the rounds across social media. I know I'm excited to see more and intend to keep the faith through tabletop rpgs.

Here's to 40 more years and beyond! 

Who you gonna call?

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Live Long and Prosperity

Yesterday evening, my Friday night gaming group completed the second half of the first 'episode' of 'Season 8' of our Star Trek Adventures campaign, Star Trek: Prosperity.

Passed through the Universal Translator, this means we played the second session of the eighth year of our game, finishing a two-part adventure. Eight years marks the longest running campaign I've ever Gamemastered. It has gone on for nearly twice the length of any of my previous Star Trek campaigns across three different systems (FASA, Last Unicorn Games, and Star Trek Adventures itself).

 

The four Player Characters (first row) and cast of Major NPCs - Seasons 3 to 7

The game's sessions have been an average of four hours long and run roughly biweekly. We've missed or skipped a get together here and there due to personal or work related issues and holidays but I estimate we've had around 140 sessions. For the first few months of the campaign, we used the Last Unicorn Games ICON System version of the Star Trek RPG but, after a brief hiatus, we converted everything over to Star Trek Adventures. 

In the earliest sessions, which occurred 'in-person' prior to the Covid Global Pandemic, there were a few additional players who came in and out but the same four key players who have been there since the beginning are still here. 

It hasn't always been easy, as this group is made up of some strong and occasionally conflicting personalities. Add to that the fact that some of them have core viewpoints on adventure and campaign design that differ from my own. Still and all, we've all pursued the same goal of ensuring the game works to the best of each of our abilities. The entire group is committed to making the game fun for each of us and all of us. 

Character Progression occurs every even numbered 'Season', with the Players gaining bonuses ranging from increases to their Attributes and/or Disciplines, a new Focus, or a new Talent. Usually it's some combo of these as it happened only once a year.  

Every odd numbered year they get an upgrade to their starship, the USS Prosperity. In addition to the advantages of Rugged Design and a Rear Mounted Photon Torpedo Tube (a rarity in The Original Series era in which we play), the ship started with two flaws:

The Nacelle Warp Coils were stressed and/or damaged by maintaining high warp for an extended period - especially the Port Side Nacelle. 

each time the Prototype Rear Photon Torpedo was fired the launch tube was knocked out of alignment. This required additional Task Checks between each shot. Also, whereas firing Photon Torpedoes adds a point of Threat (an in-game Gamemaster currency), the Rear Mounted Photon Torpedo generated two. 

Over time the flaws were repaired and Advanced Sensors, an Improved Warp Drive, and the ability to Rapid Fire their forward Torpedo Tube were added. Thanks to the Prosperity and her crew, the aging Ventura Class vessels still in operation were being upgraded (usually a couple of steps behind the Prosperity itself). Unfortunately, the class as a whole was originally scheduled to be mothballed, with no new such ship having been commissioned in years. A 'B plot' had the PC Chief Engineer, Commander Bhoth, work with the NPC Asst. Chief in order to prove to Starfleet Command that the Ventura Class was still viable. In the end they saved the design, with the first brand new Ventura due to be completed soon (in Season 8). 

In the two-part 'opener', the Prosperity's First Officer and Chief Science Officer Commander Solok returns to Vulcan along with the other PCs in order to marry his long term romantic interest, the ship's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Margaret 'Maggie' Hanover. Following the wedding, Solok's player essentially retired the character. After eight years of playing the Vulcan Science Officer, my friend Leo wanted to try something else. 

The rest of the team left Solok and the NPC Doctor to the next stage of their lives while they traveled back to the USS Prosperity. En route, the established command crew meet a young Helmsman, Lt. Charles 'Charlie' Wilder, Leo's new character. When the transport bringing them 'home' was attacked by religious zealots and a creepy space kaiju, the level-headed and action oriented Captain Ann Fletcher took command. Tapping each PCs unique set of skills, Fletcher organized and facilitated the transport's escape from the massive monster. The episode ended with the wounded ship pulling up alongside the USS Prosperity and Deep Space 5. 

Alien Friends and Foes

The next episode and Season 8 as a whole will see a considerable paradigm shift in the game and it's one the group and I are definitely down for. Our perfectionist, poor-work-to-life-balance Chief Engineer is going to become the First Officer. New PC Charlie Wilder, a more action oriented character, gives me an excuse to switch up the type of adventures I run, with fewer science mysteries and more fights against alien gladiators (and such). We'll have a new NPC Doctor. I've got sooo many things planned. 

After 8 years, over 70 different adventure ideas, and 200 sessions I am still inspired to run this game. Amazing. 

'Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning'...

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Barking Alien

The Big Chill

Oh. My. GHOSTBUSTERS!

As if I needed another reason to be obsessed with Ghostbusters gaming right now SONY Pictures and Ghost Corps deliver this chilling new adventure; a cool as ice sequel to 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

The official story synopsis for the film is as follows: (From IMDB) 

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!

The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.

Stay frosty Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire blows in to theatres March 29, 2024.

Who You Gonna Call? It looks like we're callin' in EVERYBODY!

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Barking Alien

The Power of The Fourth

May The Fourth Be With You Everyone! 

What a year its been for Star Wars fans already and we're not even halfway through it. Sure, it hasn't all been perfect but the potential for more great stories in this universe is just beyond the next hyperspace jump.

To celebrate the Star Wars franchise this May the Fourth we have a number of wonderful events going on today.

The first, which I feel is a long time coming, is a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the late, great Carrie Fisher.

As I am writing this before the event has occurred I don't have much in the way of specifics but I will definitely follow up in a near-future post. 

Second, Disney Plus is airing an animated series for young viewers called Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. The entire 5 episode show will be dropping today. Preceded by 6 shorts between March and April, the series splits each episode into two separate short stories. The show follows a group of youngling Jedi in the time of the High Republic. 

Designed specifically for a young audience and to be 'family friendly' entertainmentl, the series has a fun, cute, and colorful art style and a relatively simple narrative structure. Maybe not for you and me but it could be great for kids.

The third and definitely biggest highlight of the day for me is the release of all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions - Volume 2.

 

This animated anthology series continues and expands the concept of the previous outing in 2020, which was done entirely by Japanese Anime studios. This time out that Galaxy Far, Far Away goes global, with shorts from Chile, England, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, and South Africa!

I am going to watch them all and when I'm finished I'll do mini-reviews of each as I did for Volume 1. This will likely be followed by a look at the series through a 'Gamer's Eye' to discuss what elements from Visions 2 might be worth adding to a Star Wars TRPG game.

Lastly, Disney+ will have a one-off animated Simpsons short featuring little Maggie called Rogue Not Quite One. I don't have much information on this and it's not high on my viewing list but I feel the need to include it for completion's sake. 

Alrighty, with that I'm going to head off to enjoy the day. Maybe I'll pick up some Meiloorun fruit for later. If I have time I might head over to Tosche Station to grab a couple of Power Converters.  

Happy Star Wars Day Everybody!

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Barking Alien