Alpha Centauri DnD-style?

[Belial_the_Leveler]

A cabal of powerful mages opens portals to a new, weird, seemingly empty world in the Prime, a world of pinkish terrain, purple-green seas and weird growths orbiting a binary star. Teams of explorers are sent to investigate... and are soon attacked by monsters, large-scale psionic phenomena and the terrain itself...



In short, how would an expedition from a magical world fare in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, where the entire planet is a semi-sentient psionic entity that dwarfs any DnD god, and reacts to the intruders by producing "antibodies" in the shape of psionic monstrosities the size of villages and with enough power to trouble people with 22nd to 24th century technology?

[Arbane]

In short, how would an expedition from a magical world fare in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, where the entire planet is a semi-sentient psionic entity that dwarfs any DnD god, and reacts to the intruders by producing "antibodies" in the shape of psionic monstrosities the size of villages and with enough power to trouble people with 22nd to 24th century technology?

Well, IIRC, the air isn't breathable until you do some heavy-duty terraforming, so that's an obstacle right there.

[Wardog]

In short, how would an expedition from a magical world fare in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, where the entire planet is a semi-sentient psionic entity that dwarfs any DnD god, and reacts to the intruders by producing "antibodies" in the shape of psionic monstrosities the size of villages and with enough power to trouble people with 22nd to 24th century technology?

Technology is irrelivent (apart from +attack/defence vs psi tech) when fighting mind worms. What you want is enough moral/willpower not run away screaming / claw your eyes out, and preferably some sort of AoE damage to exterminate them. So, blaster wizards/sorcerers.

Or rangers/druids to recruit them to your side.

[dysprosium]

Technology is irrelivent (apart from +attack/defence vs psi tech) when fighting mind worms. What you want is enough moral/willpower not run away screaming / claw your eyes out, and preferably some sort of AoE damage to exterminate them. So, blaster wizards/sorcerers.

Or rangers/druids to recruit them to your side.

+1 to recruiting. I love playing that game! Great way to bolster your armies.

Urban Savant prestige class from Cityscape allows for wild empathy to work on aberrations.

[Milo v3]

+1 to recruiting. I love playing that game! Great way to bolster your armies.

Urban Savant prestige class from Cityscape allows for wild empathy to work on aberrations.

Don't even need Urban Savant, they're plant creatures with intelligence scores, just use Speak with Plants. And if your in Pathfinder be an elf druid to get Plant Animal Companions.

[kardar233]

I think you could stat Mind Worms as Plant Swarms with an AoE Psi-like ability that causes saves vs Panic with possibly a Wisdom damage rider (needs to be Panicked rather than Frightened as cornered people won't fight back, they'll cower) and a devastating swarm attack. Locusts of Chiron would be similar but Flying, as would Isles of the Deep (aquatic). Sealurks, Fungal Towers and Spore Launchers would be more different; Sealurks could be modelled as Giant Squids or Krakens, but I don't know about the others.

You'd need to build a feat that would allow Animal Companion-using classes to recruit Mind Worm-based creatures as familiars.

[Marlowe]

How would we model the Human(-oid) factions? Magic=technology? Would the Believer-analogs actually have a lot of Clerics/Favoured Souls or would they be against magic of any sort? Would Santiago be a Battle Sorceror, or is she more optimised than that? (she has to be Charisma-based, it's in the backstory:smallbiggrin:); would we use the material from the prequel short story where Yang has psychic powers?

[A_S]

Yang is definitely a Thrallherd.

[mythmonster2]

Meanwhile, the Gaians and the Cult of Planet are varying flavors of Druid, while the University has Artificers?

[Marlowe]

And silly me. Santiago is obviously a Stalwart Sorceror/Paladin of Freedom Sorcadin; and her faction are obsessively Gishy.

I'm having trouble placing Morgan. Bardic faction? That would be more the Peacekeepers. What character classes are all about money?

[kardar233]

And silly me. Santiago is obviously a Stalwart Sorceror/Paladin of Freedom Sorcadin; and her faction are obsessively Gishy.

There's no way Santiago is a Paladin, definitely not of Freedom, and I'm dubious of her even being Good.

If anyone's a Paladin of Freedom it's Lal, but Alpha Centauri is pretty morally grey overall.

[mythmonster2]

There's no way Santiago is a Paladin, definitely not of Freedom, and I'm dubious of her even being Good.

If anyone's a Paladin of Freedom it's Lal, but Alpha Centauri is pretty morally grey overall.

Freedom? Lal seems like he's trying to be Lawful Good, because UN and all, but considering it's Alpha Centauri, probably comes out as more Lawful Neutral (cloning your wife and raising her because you can't bear to be without her doesn't seem particularly Good to me).

[Dimers]

EDIT: So, who's gonna start up this game in the Recruiting forum? :smallsmile:



What character classes are all about money?

Artificer. Morgan's magic is using less money/energy to create amazing structures.


There's no way Santiago is a Paladin, definitely not of Freedom, and I'm dubious of her even being Good.

Santiago should be a paladin of CN -- absolutely nobody gonna tell HER what to do. It's not in a published book so far as I'm aware, but I had a DM who easily homebrewed paladins for all nine alignments. Named each one, too, though they all got lumped in under "Devotee". CN specifically was "Anarchist".


Meanwhile, the Gaians and the Cult of Planet are varying flavors of Druid, while the University has Artificers?

Just because Artificer fits Morgan so well, I'd say Archivist for the university faction.

[Coidzor]

Just because Artificer fits Morgan so well, I'd say Archivist for the university faction.

That or just straight Wizard, y'all.

[Sian]

How about Conciousness, Drones, Pirates and Data Angels then?

Pirates would likely be Swashbucklers, merely due to thematic fit, while Data Angels would be N(CN) Rogues. Conciousness i have a bit of an issue with placing on a class basis. Drones would be Experts and tons of them, with the odd Adept between them

[A_S]

Conciousness i have a bit of an issue with placing on a class basis.
The Consciousness are all Green Star Adepts.

They lose a lot.

[Marlowe]

Freedom? Lal seems like he's trying to be Lawful Good, because UN and all, but considering it's Alpha Centauri, probably comes out as more Lawful Neutral (cloning your wife and raising her because you can't bear to be without her doesn't seem particularly Good to me).

Not to mention every time he calls me up he's trying to emotionally blackmail me into giving him tech for free, or else to get me to declare vendetta on the latest target of his ire so he won't have to get his hands dirty. He's probably the faction leader I'd most like to put on "ignore".

[Wardog]

[B]
Santiago should be a paladin of CN -- absolutely nobody gonna tell HER what to do
The Spartan faction seems pretty authoritarian (i.e. Lawful) to me. What with their with their faction bonus to Police rating, and all the fluff about discipline, harsh training, etc.

No-one is going to tell Santiago what to do, because she is the one in charge. That doesn't make her Chaotic (otherwise all kings and dictators would be Chaotic).

[Sian]

Remember that being deceptive aren't a chaotic trait (Devils are primary users of this tactic).

Santiago is probably somewhere around LN (with tendencies towards LE), strict and militaristic and have no issue telling people that she is the one in charge, and seems to run a quite tyrannical play

[Kingsnake]

Not quite what you're asking for, but I'd note that Chiron did get a GURPS book: http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/alphacentauri/