Thoughts on TS modules

Putraack's picture
Putraack
March 30, 2017 - 8:11pm
I'm one of those DMs that likes to cut up published adventures for parts, and re-use them in other places and games. I've long had thoughts about the Top Secret mods, as those were some of the first modules I ever bought, and I've read them backwards and forwards.

001- Sprechenhaltestelle- this is a sandbox, a sleazy neighborhood in a port city, perhaps on the Mediterranean. Multiple crime and espionage networks are at work, mostly centering on moving defectors from one of the rival blocs to the other, and vice versa.
 If you move this to a space station or leave it on a planet, it still works. It needs two rival power blocs, or other reasons for people to be moving clandestinely through an urban area. Could be corporate wars, pirate/criminal networks, an unpopular government, or Sathar agents.

002- Rapidstrike!- This is a commando mission for agents to sneak into an isolated bunker and rescue a scientist being held by a criminal boss and her well-armed lackeys.
    I actually ran this in SF, as part of the "Warriors of White Light"- the PC boarding party of course, became the commandos. You could move the secret island base to an asteroid or moon, like I did, but you'll need to account for the lower gravity. OR, it could still be on an island-- presumably, there are plenty of places to hide on worlds of the Frontier. Madame Larreau's criminal enterprise could be part of an interstellar smuggling/terrorist/espionage ring, run by a corporation, a world government, or a huge crime ring.

003- Lady in Distress- As mentioned elsewhere, this is a parachute drop onto a cruise ship, which has been taken by terrorists. {Aside: I heard this from Merle Rasmussen or another TSR staffer: the M/S Corona is based on the Achille Lauro, which really was taken by terrorists shortly after the module was published. The ship's deckplans happened to be the ones that were available at a Lake Geneva travel agent's shop.}
As mentioned elsewhere, you could put this on a space-going liner.

004- Fastpass
- A Soviet mathematician wants to defect from a hotel in Budapest. Make contact and get him out, despite heavy security. This is also an easy one to port over to the Frontier; all you need is a city and a reason for someone to be defecting. Of course, moving it to a space station or passenger ship is possible, but it does take out the car-ride and potential chase scene in the last part of the module.

005- Orient Express- Several short adventures, all taking place on the European rail network. Includes floorplans for a variety of passenger cars. Could be run on trains, high-speed trains or monorails, or even a passenger-carrying spaceship.

006- Ace of Clubs- Your agency has a training facility, which is undercover as a private country resort. Find the enemy infiltrators. Duh, Sathar-controlled infiltrators.

007- Seventh Seal- A terrorist network has hidden nuclear bombs around Los Angeles. Find their lair and find the bombs. Easy to move to a city anywhere in the Frontier.

Mini-module: rescuing the kidnapped president- this is a "haunted house" of some exploration and then a potential firefight with kidnappers. Another easy conversion, just need someone kidnapped.

Thoughts?
Comments:

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 30, 2017 - 9:17pm
Neat
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 31, 2017 - 3:57am
RE: Sprechenhaltestelle:
One suggestion would be Outer Reach. The scant setting material on it is that its ruled by several rival crime lords- there's your rival power blocks and crime lords immediately suggest seedy.
PCs would be an infiltration team have use of a safe house- lower exp rewards if their activities foolishly compromise the safe house.

Rapid Strike: How about Planaron asteroid? Must capture a pirate corvette, repair it and perform a covert mission on Planaron before the massed forces of the Royal Marines arrive to take the base down. Shades of Guns of Navarone (Ah nothing says its Christmas in England like Guns of Navarone playing on the telle)

RE: Lady In Distress I love the irony that the Achille Lauro was the ship hijacked by terrorist but not the fact they killed a man in a wheel chair and then tossed him and the wheel chair overboard.
However, that is something the terrorist could do: spacing a passenger out the air lock without a vacuum suit.

RE: Orient Express- I have some mono rail cars I did in Dunjini software which no longer works on my machine. This means I cant modify them I have to port them into Gimp and add the Dunjini logo to have them published in the magazine. Its probably something I should do soon
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
March 31, 2017 - 4:19am
My dunjini mono rail:




I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

JCab747's picture
JCab747
March 31, 2017 - 10:56am
I like the monorail map.
Joe Cabadas

jedion357's picture
jedion357
April 3, 2017 - 3:47am
JCab747 wrote:
I like the monorail map.


I posted it for people to grab and use if they like, I'm not happy with it and the software isn't working on my computer anymore. Might try to redo these in CC3 software and fix things I dont like.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!