I was curious I’m starting a new game for solo, a smuggler Orion or ferangi so money!
I want to convert the bastions to like a star base or asteroid.
Any ideas where to start?
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If you’re talking about DnD’s new bastion system, that’s not really… a thing? Starbases are more like giant ships, mechanically. So you’d have to narratively make stuff up, or incorporate the advancements system somehow.
Fallout 2d20 (or one of the Modiphius Fallout games) does have a settlement feature, which you could rework.
Fallout 2d20 (or one of the Modiphius Fallout games) does have a settlement feature, which you could rework.
Specifically, in the Settler’s Guide, not in the Fallout core.
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There’s a blog post over at Continuing Mission dealing with using the House system of Dune for a Klingon House that could be adapted.
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Yeah! It could be fun to design a custom starbase/asteroid setup.
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Ok, I’ve now had an opportunity to look at the actual Bastions system and the Fallout settlements system.
The Fallout system would be… somewhat difficult to rework, since so many of its mechanics are integrally tied to the survival crafting aspect of Fallout. Which would be hard to use in the post-scarcity setting that is Star Trek. (The book also includes a number of general NPC and PC options that expand the core game, beyond just the settlement system.)
The Bastion system, however, perhaps combined with STA’s Reputation and/or Star Trek Online’s fleet starbase system, is certainly something that could be adapted. My key takeaway from the Bastion system is that it provides bonuses to characters during play later (as opposed to being a playable system for its own sake like Fallout).
I could certainly see starbase locations being used to provide rerolls, extra focuses, or other similar and temporary bonuses in STA. The actual benefits would have initial balance issues probably, but the big hurdle in my opinion is how a starbase is “paid” for. In DnD, it’s gold & (in-game) time—tangible (ish) items are sacrificed for tangible benefits (advantage on rolls, magic items, etc.). This is the reason I mention the Reputation system: it’s a bit more consistent in giving a player rewards (Reputation points) than milestones, and letting them be spent on a Starbase instead of awards/commendations/powers that a player might not want (or narratively “deserve”) gives an additional use for them. Which is not to say that the Milestones system couldn’t be used—in fact, it probably should be an addition. Perhaps Milestone options “build” the starbase, and Reputation is spent to get the bonuses.
The STO Fleet bases system provides at least a template for various addons. DnD doesn’t really have that many, especially compared to the MMO base mechanic that STO’s bases are. But the stages/sections, or other locations (colony, research, etc.) can each be their own addon, providing narratively relevant benefits.
I think that’s a pretty workable start! Use STO’s fleet bases as an outline for addons; add some milestone options for building/adding them; and use the reputation system to “purchase” the base’s bonuses.
@CaptainSol what sort of system were you looking for? Because I’ve been brainstorming things, and chatting with some friends, and I have 2 pretty different ways it could go. One is very number crunchy, and the other is a bit lighter. Were you looking to be a Ferengi/Orion and get latinum, that you would dump into the system? Or what exactly was the goal here?
I wrote up a draft of the less-crunchy version. The concept can basically be explained in two sentences, so perhaps I got a bit wordy in trying to fully explain/flesh it out. The short version is: You can use the advancement and reputation systems to upgrade your starbase. Use any ship-based advancements on the base, and then allow spending reputation points to purchase location traits and NPCs. Feel free to read and comment below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hnPkixJWyvNMmHlYsjLO7rI-9Y799dOcV2wAwZ1YBBQ/edit?usp=sharing