 June 4, 2014 - 2:04pm | I was just reading a Dragon from 1990 "Curses Are Divine" and started wondering about curses in sf- you'd think no not possible but... A curse would be initiated by an all powerful, and omnipresent entity and I can think of a few such entities existing in star frontiers. A megacorp, the AI hinted to be running NET corporatioin out of Cassidine, even space fleet could be considered to have cursed an officer that has been kicked out. Removing such a curse would certainly involve a "quest". What would be the effects of such a curse? How woiuld it opperate in game or setting? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 4, 2014 - 4:54pm | Well if you are running a Star Wars clone style SF then curses could be used. Some one using the Not Bright side of the Farce applies a long lasting effect upon the character. The party needs to go to Sweat Frog main plant to find the head of the Needs to Wear Sunglasses side of the Farce Froz Yogu. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
June 4, 2014 - 5:38pm | These would be curses as a result of "story" within the setting For example Star Fleet officer kicked out of service- -20% reaction with all Space Fleet officers and most Space Fleet officers are pretty much out to bust his balls. PGC curse- obviously he cant get a PGC job ever again nor a Galactic Task Force either which isn't a terrible curse but if you were in a location where there was only a PGC showroom and your credit was refused? naturally we're talking about the PC haveing done something that really pissed people off in general or one person in particular. Or he's believed to have done something. Pirate/ Malthar curse should be possible. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 4, 2014 - 6:45pm | What if the PC has been label a Jinx? That in itself is a curse because if word get around the PC isn't very lucky that may hinder his chnaces at finding a job. A nice example here goes something like this. "Hey, that guy you just hired. He's had nine ships blasted out from under him." or "Every ship he's ever served on starts to breaking down." The cluts who keep dropping thing or tripping over his own two feet is another idea to play around with. |
June 5, 2014 - 6:50am | Jed sounds more like blacklisting than cursing but would have similar effects. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
June 5, 2014 - 11:46am | Jed sounds more like blacklisting than cursing but would have similar effects. I agree with that and would point out that a fantasy curse could be viewed as blacklisting by a diety. Some powerful SF entites would settle for blacklisting but others like some cadres or the Malthar might be a little more proactive, which would not really read as a curse but a vendetta. All of which makes for interesting story material in game and could lead to further adventures "quest" to remove said curse or vendetta. What you dont have is the -1 cursed long sword. Though you could have "virus infected' cybernetic devices which would act as cursed items the PC could not get rid of easily. Or what might be real fun is a cursed ship.- everyone thinks its cursed, and lots of things break and go wrong with it inexplicably. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 June 5, 2014 - 5:17pm | Computer virus works perfectly. I like the infected ship idea. You could also have infected machinery and robots that keep trying to kill the party, or dangerously malfuctioning at times they would be expected to work innocuously. (Though that is a bit 2001ish.) View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
June 24, 2014 - 4:29am | A curse
would be initiated by an all powerful, and omnipresent entity and I can
think of a few such entities existing in star frontiers. A megacorp,
the AI hinted to be running NET corporatioin out of Cassidine, even
space fleet could be considered to have cursed an officer that has been
kicked out. I think I was wrong here in fantasy genres a curse is commonly initiated by a high level cleric or wizard or agreived (angry /wrathful) individual. The power behind it is a powerful entity- god/spirit or the arcane force of the universe. Curses are usually wound up like a clock and set in motion and operate on their own. In star frontiers you'd have a powerful individual that would initiate a "curse" calling on the power at his disposal- mega corp, space fleet, Council of Worlds, Sathar spy network, etc.To some degree it could be wind up and let it go and it operates on its own but it would more commonly be more of a direct application of will of the initiator of the "curse" at this point we can actually call it a grudge (-1 curse) or vendetta (-3 curse) and so on. Lifting a curse could involve killing the initiator, succeeding despite their vendetta (ie saving the galaxy), humilitating the initiator- CEO or admiral of space fleet shown to have committed criminal acts and is put out of his position, though that is not likely to fully lift the curse in that this individual will still bear the grudge against the PCs Jinx- PCs could have a jinx and I would take a page from GURPs on this- they player has to decide to accept the jinx (in 1st edition GURPS choosing to start play with a disability gave you more points to build your character thus missing an eye or hand at character creation was a real possibility but there were less dramatic options) player is jinxed in that it seems that every combat he's in he fumbles or jams his weapon "Martin! How the hell do you manage to jam a laser, its got no moving parts!" The reality is there is a 25% chance of the jinx activating when certain conditions are met: combat, movement over tricky ground, working with electronics etc. player should get a compensation for the jinx - automatic +10% to all tech PSA actions Example is a egg head techie who is really good at tech stuff but a clutz with weapons which might be a fun character to play Psychic curses: mentalism, psionics, the force all could be the source of a classic style curse. the mentalism rules in SF dont really have a mechanism for this but it would be possible by Game masyter fiat. a really potent curse of this sort could be -1 STA every so much of a time period- this will put pressure on the player to deal with the curse but this would be an extreme example- perhaps this curse is on an NPC valued by the PC to that the PC must quest to save the NPC. there is an option to win or lose with this. More garden variety psychic curses should not be so deadly though could be an aura of oppression hanging over the character. a flat -10% to one ability score or a 40% of the oppression cloud hitting the character during random stressful situations- -10% to all abilities; and nightmares which would be a paragraph written by the gamemaster and might describe visual clues of where the initiator of the curse is located, ie the location of the final encounter. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
June 24, 2014 - 5:33am | A ship could be cursed: a murder of a mentalist or just a forcefull personality happened on the ship and the psychic backlash of that event remains. It could be something other than a murder but of similar violent force. Players are happy to get the ship, naturally but it has this little problem that crops up in unusual ways and times. Only after they settle into the ship do they start to hear chatter about its curse or haunting. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
