From:	Pete Sims <petesims@********.demon.co.uk>
Subject:	Space - The Final Frontier
Date:	Sat, 21 Sep 1996 18:08:09 +0100

With the release of Dunkelzahn's Secrets, and the photo's from Mars, it
is fairly evident that Ares/NASA is still indulging in space
exploration. Though whether from the Florida site or oribit, is
unclear. Unfortunately I had used a very similar thread (pyramids etc)
earlier in my game, and have a mining colony on Mars. The Moon also has
two colonies on it, so I think I may have jumped the gun a tad, but
hell, it's my game. The players are aware of the constructions, and a
very small amount of information surrounding the pyramids. (I still
haven't quite decided what to do with them yet. I work very much on the
fly, and probably won't really need to deal with this situation until
the players become embroiled a little deeper in a conspiracy that's
occuring at the moment.

I also have been using the existing space stations, and a couple of
others, in orbit as launch points for travel in our system (I've not
left the system yet, except for probes), and use replicants (ala
Bladerunner) for mining and exploration purposes. Unlike FASA, I don't
have too much trouble with androids in the not overly distant
future.twleve stations I have in orbit around Earth, are designed along
the "Spacer" concept used by Asimov in Caves of Steel and other books,
and have a "distance" between the stations, and "groundhogs". I felt
the attitude towards Station livers, and earth bound presented by Asimov
and as portrayed in Earth 2, to be compatible with my view and game.

I also have a secret station/colony being built on Io, but that's
another story, and the players are a teeny bit involved in some of the
conspiracy surrounding it, though they don't know that yet. 8-)

I was wondering if anyone else out there has done anything similar, and
how you've dealt with it. I do allow magic in space (though only in
near orbit), though Mages suffer horribly if they screw up. One of the
Mages with the party believes all the rumours about Mages and Space, and
has so far refused point blank to experiment. I don't really blame him,
I'm likely to frag with the character royally if he tries and makes a
booboo.

In case anyone is curious, yes I do have undersea colonies and farms as
well, though these are few and far between, and rumour in my game states
that one of the larger corporations believes they have discovered
Atlantis. The players are about to get involved in that one, and again,
I haven't really worked out all the details yet.

That's the problem with producing a newspaper as well as scenarios and
maps. There's no peace and time to figure things out.

Anyway, I was just curious what other peoples views were regarding
stations, colonies, exploration and magic. Gosh, that's a big question,
hope I don't cause any arguments. 8-)

Looking forward to your answers... 8-}
Pete
--
Pete Sims
Civilisation advances by extending the number of important operations which we
can perform without thinking about them.