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blackout
2007-06-26, 10:30 PM
Y'know, I'm really getting tired of posting a new 'plea for help' thread every time my group gets in a bad situation, or starts a new campaign. Maybe I should just put up one thread that says 'Blackout's Cry for Help Thread.'

Anyways, my gaming group, consisting of 12 people, not counting our DM: 10 assorted whackos, idiots, and morons, myself, and my girlfriend, have decided to start a Halo campaign, set around a most likely non-canonical point in time several hundred years after Halo 3. The Covenant(for some reason)have 'learned the errors of their ways' and the Prophet race has been driven into extinction and the Flood have been effectively eliminated, with the exception of several small 'hives' on uninhabited worlds. The rest of the Covenant, seperatists and loyalists to the Prophets, have decided to merge with humanity to ensure peace and prosperity throughout the galaxy, happiness for all, etc. This new political entity, called the Coalition, is led by a High Council, which consists of one respresentative from each species, and each High Councilman has a council of their own to help govern their own species.

Interspeciated friendships and even marriages are very, very common nowadays for some reason(didn't ask). The only real problems are pirates, smugglers, Sentinels that escaped the Halos somehow, and small seperatist factions that seek to restart the Covenant/Human war, along with small religious cults bent on doing the same things that the old Covenant was doing, finding the Halos and activating them. Most of the planets that were glassed during the war have been terraformed back to their original states.

The group is gonna be a small team of freelancers that are trained to deal with these kinds of threats.

And so, several members of my group(including the DM) comes to you today with these questions;

DM's Question: Should I permit the group to have a vehicle right at the beginning of the campaign or not? If so, what kind? I'm going to have to veto any tanks, and a ship comes standard for them.

Phil's Question: Should I go for a Brute or Elite character? I want to be the guy that gets in the enemy's face. The downside is that if I go Brute, I get stronger, but if everyone else in the group goes down, then I completely lose control and go berserk.

Donald's Question: I want to really be a Jackal. Sniper-deal, you know how it goes. However, if I go this way, one good whack to the head and I'm dead. My question is simple; Should I go the way of the Jackal, or go for something else, like an Elite?

Bill's Question: The main advantage of the Grunts is that they can move way faster than normal if on all-fours, so I'm going Grunt. However, should I go the way of a heavy-weapons specialist, or a cannon-fodder Grunt? My style is more heavy-weapons, but the cannon-fodder Grunt style has it's advantages.

Carl's Question: I'm looking to be a Drone, to provide the necessary air support the group...actually, there's no question here. Go away.

James' Question: I'm going human, but I don't know if I should be a Brute, because of the sheer strength I get. Your suggestions?

Before you guys ask, I'm going human. :smallamused:

Mike_Lemmer
2007-06-26, 10:41 PM
Hmm, you thinking about mixing some Marathon stuff in there? A collision between the Humans/Combine and the ever-loving race-enslaving sun-novaing Pfhor would be interesting.

blackout
2007-06-26, 10:44 PM
Nah. We would, but it just wouldn't really fit.

TheLogman
2007-06-26, 11:00 PM
For a Vehicle? Allow for one Pelican for when already inside a planet, and a Longsword for travel to other planets.

Oh, and may I suggest giving the creatures stats near the Normal/Easy settings? Because one time, I modified the Halo Campaign, specifically making plasma rifles shoot tank shells. One I got my hands on a Plasma Rifle, it took 4, 4!!!!!! Tank Shells, directly fired at their face, direct hit to kill them. This was on Legendary Mode though.

Rob Knotts
2007-06-27, 12:17 AM
I've never played Halo, but from what I remember from my Cyberpunk 2020 and Paranoia days, sci-fi combat characters are at a distinct disadvantage if they don't start out with a vehicle they can use routinely. It can also make the game take forever if/when the PCs decided to make finding a vehicle thier first priority above all else.

Give them something basic, something that will get them there and survive a beating well enough to get them back out. Just make sure it's not something the players will think can do the fighting and take the risks instead of thier characters.

TheLogman
2007-06-27, 12:38 AM
Oh, get two Mongooses too. They are like ATV's, but it's easy to fire the weapon you are carrying from it.

A Jackel would be an awesome race, especially if played the right way. Tell Donald to go Jackel.

Bill, go Cannon Fodder, cause your weapon (Fuel Cell) Could explode, and is heavy enough to hamper your movement, which is the whole reason you are Grunt in the first place.

James, don't go Brute. Definitely go Human, since it seems like you're the only one considering it, and you need someone who is familiar with the vehicles, and ready access to the fun Heavy Weapons.

blackout
2007-06-27, 08:58 AM
A Jackel would be an awesome race, especially if played the right way. Tell Donald to go Jackel.

Done. :smallsmile: Donald had this to say.

Donald: Thanks. Now if I could just maintain the instinct to not die, I'm good.


Bill, go Cannon Fodder, cause your weapon (Fuel Cell) Could explode, and is heavy enough to hamper your movement, which is the whole reason you are Grunt in the first place.

Well, actually, over several hundred years, the technology has progressed to the point that the fuel rod guns don't explode unless rigged to. Your right about it being heavy enough to hamper his movement, though.

Bill: Ok, thanks. Now, should I go with a plasma rifle, plasma pistol, needler, or a human weapon, like the SMG?...Hmm...a grunt with an assault rifle would be amusing.

Pylar(his character):*in high pitched voice* GIMME YOUR MUNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!



James, don't go Brute. Definitely go Human, since it seems like you're the only one considering it, and you need someone who is familiar with the vehicles, and ready access to the fun Heavy Weapons.

Well, there are at least three other people here, myself included, who are playing humans.

James: Ok. Brutes can wield heavy weapons too, y'know. They can dual wield them, actually. But, okeydoke.


For a Vehicle? Allow for one Pelican for when already inside a planet, and a Longsword for travel to other planets.

DM: Like I said, ship comes standard. They get a small, slipspace capable vessel called a Mantis-class Corvette. It's cargo bays are big enough to carry one smaller ship and a couple of ground vehicles. But, the Pelican is standard, so that goes in.


Oh, get two Mongooses too. They are like ATV's, but it's easy to fire the weapon you are carrying from it.

DM: Alright, a couple of Mongooses...Mongooses? Mongeese? Wtf is the plural form of Mongoose?!


Oh, and may I suggest giving the creatures stats near the Normal/Easy settings? Because one time, I modified the Halo Campaign, specifically making plasma rifles shoot tank shells. One I got my hands on a Plasma Rifle, it took 4, 4!!!!!! Tank Shells, directly fired at their face, direct hit to kill them. This was on Legendary Mode though.

DM: Meh.


Give them something basic, something that will get them there and survive a beating well enough to get them back out. Just make sure it's not something the players will think can do the fighting and take the risks instead of thier characters.

Maybe a turret-less warthog to go along with the Mongooses/Mongeese.

TheLogman
2007-06-27, 11:21 AM
Why not give the Grunt a Sniper? He can hang back, and use cover, plus his size to make it hard to hit him, and then he can snipe off enemies.

blackout
2007-06-27, 11:32 AM
Because Grunts apparently can't see too well. I'm over here going :smallconfused:

blackout
2007-06-30, 12:30 PM
Ok, little update on the campaign to keep y'all entertained.

This is clearly a high-level campaign, all characters are 17th level right now.

We're being paid by a little pirate band to go down to Reach with a few other little commando teams, to steal a new ship: The Pride of Sangheil, a ship that is named after the Elite homeworld. This ship has enough weapons and gear to effectively wipe out a whole fleet, and shields and armor strong enough to survive a flipping N.O.V.A. blast. It's got hyper-MAC guns, superplasma torpedoes, enough anti-aircraft guns to wipe out entire wings of fighters, and N.O.V.A. Cannons, weapons that fire N.O.V.A. bombs full-auto. Yes. Full-auto.

We're already just outside the system, in Slipspace with seven other ships of similar class, the largest of which is a Halcyon Mark II-class Cruiser, similar to the Pillar of Autumn, but better. The smallest ship is a Pelican Mark IV Dropship.

Our ships are about to be boarded by Coalition troops on patrol, with a small frigate, a ship about the size of the In Amber Clad. We're going to kill the boarding parties, take their boarding craft, threaten the pilots, and then use them to go over to the Pride of Sangheil. Afterwards, we kill everything on the ship, take it to the pirates, and get our pay. At least, that's what the other seven commando-mercenary teams are thinking. What MY party is thinking is taking the ship for ourselves, and selling it back to the Coalition, saying we attacked the pirates that stole it and seized it from them.

Do you see any possible flaws in the plan? Last thing my party wants is a TPK right when we're in a position to steal a highly mobile Death Star-like starship.

This is going to be a very risky job. The Pride of Sangheil has a massive security warband, and it's not going to be easy. On the other hand, we have seven other commando teams backing us up, and if necessary, we have a bunch of frag grenades in the storage on our gunship, which we could break out in the event we decide to make the ship blow instead of deciding to steal it.

Were-Sandwich
2007-06-30, 02:22 PM
Might I ask what system you're using?

blackout
2007-06-30, 02:31 PM
A very, very, VERY revamped version of D20 Future.

SurlySeraph
2007-06-30, 03:59 PM
This ship has enough weapons and gear to effectively wipe out a whole fleet, and shields and armor strong enough to survive a flipping N.O.V.A. blast. It's got hyper-MAC guns, superplasma torpedoes, enough anti-aircraft guns to wipe out entire wings of fighters, and N.O.V.A. Cannons, weapons that fire N.O.V.A. bombs full-auto. Yes. Full-auto.

If I remember correctly, in The Fall of Reach a single N.O.V.A. took a friggin' space platform the size of High Charity. Fighting this ship sounds like a really, really bad idea. Boarding it isn't so bad, but cooperate with the pirates as long as possible because you WILL need their help to take over the ship. This isn't quite a suicide mission, but just make absolutely sure that a) you won't have to actually fight against the ship and b) you have a way to get out of there if things go wrong. Also, be very careful about selling the ship back to the authorities. If they realize you lied about how you got it, you'll need all of its firepower to survive.

blackout
2007-06-30, 04:51 PM
Well, we have an alibi. If the authorities look us up, they'll see that the entire group was actually on vacation on Earth, in Hawaii at the time of the theft.

:smallwink: We took some neccessary precautions before doing anything.