Thinking of Fan-made sourcebooks...

[jay042]

I've decided to put together one! I'm working on a sourcebook for Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, as in the TV show from the 80's.

It really was the show that got me into sci-fi fandom in the first place and I've always had a soft spot for it. While my ongoing rewatch of the show is making me well aware of it's failings, I do find a lot of the elements of the show worthy of revisiting as a possible game world.

The idea of Earth Directorate agents wandering about the stargate nexus stopping criminals and terrorist groups would be a bit lower key than the Doctor's usually cosmic adventures, but it seems like a fun universe to explore.

I'm planning on getting a copy of Rocket Age. I understand they have expanded starship rules, which might be very useful for this project.

[Curufea]

Good idea. I've got Rocket Age but haven't read it yet. I'm thinking of incorporating parts of it into a Who campaign.

[jay042]

Right now I'm making an outline of how I want to organize the information. My idea for this project is more than just a big write up of all the characters and ships. I want to create more of a world book with a lot more incorporating all of the show's locations and themes into a more cohesive universe than they achieved on the show.

There will be a big section of character write ups. Most of the Earth directorate personnel and a lot of the villains will get write ups.

[jeffrywith1e]

How goes this project (if it's still surviving)?

[jay042]

Very Slowly!

I kind of abandoned the project for a while, I do have an outline for the overall project (and my overly meticulous nature made it exceedingly thorough.

Not much actual writing done, but I do have this PDF of
Buck and Wilma at least to show off.

[Catsmate]

Personally I prefer rather lower-key plot than the "fix this or the universe ends" that Who over-uses.

[jennysfan]

That has been an issue I've had with the relaunched series. I do wish they'd remember to do more low scale stories. Not everything needs to be the end of the universe.

Heck, maybe go and save some non-Earth planet. Been awhile since that happened

[Doctor X]

25th Century? Sounds like a good time for the First Great and Bountiful Human Empire.

[Catsmate]

Oct 17, 2014 20:08:09 GMT Doctor X said:

25th Century? Sounds like a good time for the First Great and Bountiful Human Empire.

In my Whoniverse (and YWMV) that'd be the beginning of the Imperial Era; the loose Alliance formed after the Dalek Invasion and the early Cyberwars (with the consequential reduction in power of the MegaCorps) gradually becomes more. The penultimate step was first contact with the Draconians, which triggers increased tensions, and some of the planets of the Alliance feel that a tighter structure is needed.

Then, in the greatest power grab in the history of humanity¹, the President of Earth (as first among equals) proclaims herself the first Empress of the Terran Empire.

Not everyone agrees; she faces opposition from other politicians, factions of the populace and the military, many of the planets of the Alliance (especially those on the opposite side of the expanding Human Sphere from the Draconians), criminal elements and more.

Then the Draconians attack...

It's a period of political, social and economic tensions, warfare, espionage and not a little Mad Science. Where small xeno-archaeological teams scour formerly inhabited planets in search of new technology, corporate controlled planets are still run as private fiefdoms with rebellions and unethical experiments and SpaceFleet recon-commando teams probe Draconian space in preparation for the Next War.

Even without time travel and blue boxes it's an interesting time.




¹ up to that point anyway

[jay042]

Strangely enough, in the Buck Rogers TV show, there was a Draconian Empire as well, but no Lizard Samurai guys, just some mooks in hatchet fighters, some beefy henchmen, and Pamela Hensley in sequins (and not much else)

[Catsmate]

Oct 17, 2014 21:50:50 GMT jay042 said:

Strangely enough, in the Buck Rogers TV show, there was a Draconian Empire as well, but no Lizard Samurai guys, just some mooks in hatchet fighters, some beefy henchmen, and Pamela Hensley in sequins (and not much else)

Was it ever established if the BR Draconians were humanoid aliens or descendants of a human colonisation effort?

I miss the (Whovian) Draconians, they really need to return, and not just cameos.

[jay042]

It was never really clear what the BR Dracs were. But they weren't exactly doing a great deal of world building in the show.

I always had a pet theory the Who Dracs are in fact the descendants of the Silurians. After all, we saw they had space technology in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". So There is no reason they couldn't have gone off to colonize other worlds and a couple million years of adaptation to a new world changed them into the Draconians.

[da professor]

Oct 18, 2014 16:44:32 GMT jay042 said:

I always had a pet theory the Who Dracs are in fact the descendants of the Silurians. After all, we saw they had space technology in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". So There is no reason they couldn't have gone off to colonize other worlds and a couple million years of adaptation to a new world changed them into the Draconians.

Makes sense to me.

[Catsmate]

Oct 18, 2014 17:34:07 GMT da professor said:

Oct 18, 2014 16:44:32 GMT jay042 said:

I always had a pet theory the Who Dracs are in fact the descendants of the Silurians. After all, we saw they had space technology in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". So There is no reason they couldn't have gone off to colonize other worlds and a couple million years of adaptation to a new world changed them into the Draconians.

Makes sense to me.

I like it too. Given them a few centuries or millennia on a NAFAL ship, suspended animation or generation ship, and adaption to a new environment, perhaps deliberate genetic alteration.
I wonder what'll happen when the Draconians meet the Silurians Earth Reptiles?

[jay042]

Well, I've decided to give another try with this project. I made this outline for the project. Chapter one is a recap of the show and some general info, Chapter two will be doing some world building off of what info I can extrapolate from the show. The bulk of the source book is of course character write ups. I was thinking of adding a chapter on character creation and some new gadgets.

I would especially like to here some input from anyone from the Extended Universe on what they think.

[misterharry]

Aug 18, 2018 22:22:52 GMT jay042 said:

Well, I've decided to give another try with this project. I made this outline for the project. Chapter one is a recap of the show and some general info, Chapter two will be doing some world building off of what info I can extrapolate from the show. The bulk of the source book is of course character write ups. I was thinking of adding a chapter on character creation and some new gadgets.

I would especially like to here some input from anyone from the Extended Universe on what they think.

Looks good to me. I'm not hugely familiar with Buck Rogers (didn't it clash with Doctor Who when it was broadcast on UK television back in the pre-home-recording-age of the late '70s?). But are there any vehicles or bases you could also include? Also, what about tweaks to the Vortex system to better reflect the Buck Rogers style? Does the action order need adjusting, for example? And how about a chapter of adventure seeds based on the TV episodes, in a similar manner as Siskoid does for the extracanonical sourcebooks?

These are just a few suggestions of course - looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

[jay042]

I was reconsidering modeling it much more off of the extracanonical sourcebooks. With more general chapters just focusing on the the heroes and villains, a chapter listing all of the planets and locations, and an episode guide suggesting some potential adventure seeds. I also was going to have a section listing all of the technology of the world. That would have info on the starships from the show, along with robots and any other gadgets I might need to include.


I'm also debating going whole hog and add in some of the other material. There was a comic series by Gold Key/Whitman released at the time of the show, plus there were two tie-in novels from that time as well. Plus I discovered there is a trio of novels that were released in 2016.

[jay042]

I'm putting a little more life back into this project. I have revised my outline once again, this time I'm modeling it more after the official sourcebooks for each Doctor. The first chapter being a write up of the major characters. Then a synopsis of each episode with write ups and adventure hooks. The may be another section detailing the ships, but I'm still working on it.

[jeffrywith1e]

I'm here for this!

Sticking with 1e? Or ditching the traits?

[jay042]

I am sticking with 1st edition. It's the only version I have