Star Saga

Star Saga! Huzzah!

Characters and Goals

• Valentine Stewart (inky, red token): Stylish playboy with a ship and in some kind of trouble, looking for three cargo units of Super Slip
• Corin Stoneseeker (Ghogg, blue token): Seeking a stone
  • Can build Universal Translator with one each of Synthetic Genius, Computer, Culture, and Tools
• Jean G. Clerc (Jota, green token): Engineer looking for cool alien ship-upgrade technologies (specifically a tractor beam, photon torpedoes (got 'em!), and a ship shield generator)
  • can build a Technology Nullifier with one each of Particle Catalyst, Synthetic Genius, Fuel, Tools, Iron, Medicine
• Laran Darkwatch (Matthew, purple token): In search of religious fulfillment and the final Sacred Text File (no, I'm serious)
• Professor Lee Dambroke (vimes, black token), xenobiologist seeking proof of alien life in the form of wacky abilities
  • can build a ship shield generator with one of each phase steel, warp core, munitions, fluids, radioactives, fiber
  • can build a tri-phase drive booster with one of each warp core, gradient filter, iron, crystals, fuel, flame jewel
• MJ Turner (josh_g, yellow token): ace pilot and all-around hotshot, sekritly hunting an infamous space pirate

Planets and Marketplaces

• Types of Commodity: Computers, Crystals, Culture, Fiber, Fluids, Food, Fuel, Iron, Medicine, Munitions, Radioactives, Tools

Central

• Bugeye - 153
  • Sells fuel
  • Includes scientific mission studying genetics of bugs

• Crater - 67
  • Market
    • 2 tools for 1 culture
    • 2 tools for 1 food
    • 1 tools for 1 fuel
    • 1 tools for 1 iron
    • 1 tools for 1 medicine
  • Shipyard
    • Entanglement mines: 1 food, 1 fiber
    • Warp winder: 1 culture, 1 fluids
    • Pulse inverter: 1 munitions, 1 fuel
    • Boarding robots: 1 radioactives, 1 medicine, 1 iron
  • Munitions
    • Stunner: 1 culture, 1 munitions
    • Hypnotic gas sprayer: 1 food, 1 crystal
    • Molecular disruptor: 1 iron, 1 medicine, 1 radioactives, 1 fuel
• Wellmet - 110
  • Wellmet Market
    • 1 Munitions for 1 Culture
    • 3 Munitions for 1 Fuel
    • 1 Munitions for 1 Iron
    • 1 Munitions for 1 Medicine
    • 3 Munitions for 1 Radioactives
  • Wellmet personal munitions:
    • Trade 1 Piercer - 1 Computer 1 Medicine
    • Trade 1 Exploder - 1 Munitions
    • Trade 1 Laser Reflector - 1 Fuel
    • Trade 1 Force Field - 1 Crystal 1 Culture 1 Fiber 1 Iron
  • Wellmet Torrence Family trading
    • Interested in Primordial Soup, Super Slip, Warp Core, Particle Catalyst, Phase Steel, Gradient Filter, or Synthetic Genius.
    • Give them one of the above and they will trade for any 3 of Computers, Crystals, Culture, Fiber, Fluids, Food, Fuel, Iron, Medicine, Munitions, Radioactives, and Tools.
  • Wellmet Slow Eddie Falstaff
    • There's a trade triangle. At the Ghost Worlds connection, haulers take bulk cargo (food and chemicals) out to the Ghost Worlds, and bring back rare cargo (wine, clothes, meat, glass, chips, ship parts). At the Space connection, prospectors go into space and bring back space stuff (alien stuff, alien materials, phase steel, anti-inertial) and sell it to the smugglers. At the Boundary connection, smugglers take alien stuff to the Nine Worlds and swap it for bulk cargo.

• Supa - 218
  • 2 Food for 1 Crystals
  • 2 Food for 1 Fluids
  • 3 Food for 1 Fuel

• Moiran - 118
  • Market
    • 1 crystal for 1 fiber
    • 1 crystal for 1 tools
    • 2 crystals for 1 food
    • 3 crystals for 1 computer
  • Shipyard
    • Photon torpedos - 1 Munitions
    • Magnetic deflectors - 1 Food, 1 Iron
    • Auxiliary rockets - 1 Medicine, 1 Fiber
    • Turbo navigation - 1 Computer, 1 Munitions, 1 Radioactives, 1 Tools
  • Tony the Shark
    • (Warning, can meet mugger at place to buy weapons.)
    • Blaster - 1 Fluids, 1 Tools
    • Neuron whip - 1 Computers, 1 Munitions
    • Missile toes - 1 Fiber, 1 Radioactives
    • Disintegration gun - 1 Computers, 1 Culture, 1 Food, 1 Medicine
  • Phase Steel Factory
    • Phase steel - 2 Computers + 2 Food + 1 Fiber + 1 Tools

• Medsun - 63
  • 2 Culture for 1 Fiber
  • 1 Culture for 1 Fuel
  • 3 Culture for 1 Radioactives

• Cathedral - 288
  • Offers Fiber
  • Commodity Market
    • 2 Fiber for 1 Iron
    • 3 Fiber for 1 Fuel
    • 3 Fiber for 1 Tools

• Para-Para - 107
  • 1 Fuel for 1 Computers
  • 2 Fuel for 1 Munitions
  • 3 Fuel for 1 Crystals

• Gironde - 182
  • Market
    • 2 Computers for 1 Crystals
    • 3 Computers for 1 Culture
    • 1 Computers for 1 Fuel
    • 2 Computers for 1 Radioactives
  • They say they are kept on-planet by mysterious Supervisors who don't let them leave
    • Taking off results in being attacked.
      • A good way to escape is to shut down your ship.

North

• Ascension - 17
  • Earth-like. Contains intelligent mantis-like aliens who don't speak Earth Standard.
  • Can teach the "mental shield" ability
  • Taught Jean Clerc how to build a Technology Nullifier
  • Market
    • 1 Crystals for 1 Food
    • 2 Crystals for 1 Culture
    • 3 Crystals for 1 Fluids

• Gen - 12
  • Market
    • 2 Culture for 1 Computers
    • 2 Culture for 1 Fiber
    • 3 Culture for 1 Fluids
  • Temple where they inquire, "How does one know the way to truth?"
  • City of Markov which offers LARPing
    • Has teddy bear which you can fight - suggests some treasure if it's defeated

• Storage Station 7 - 1
  • DANGER - causes ship crash with less than 100 strength

• Ouabain - 26
  • They really like games. You may have to solve a puzzle to land. Landing pad C is the safe one.
  • They'll also give you Synthetic Genius if you successfully solve a puzzle. The correct door is NOT on the right. A universal translator would undoubtedly help here.
  • Also, they can teach Telekinesis.
  • Market
    • 2 Computers for 1 Fiber
    • 2 Computers for 1 Food
    • 2 Computers for 1 Medicine
    • (If you visit the market and are told to read Text 13, you'll need to get it from here instead, since the scan in the downloadable Passage Finder is wrong. The Passage Finder linked from the map tool has been updated with the correct passage)

• Cordethar - 33
  • Artificial system containing a black hole and a computer that's monitoring all activity to send back to its Owners.
  • Infodump planet! Lots of crunchy lot-related goodness. Jean typed it all up and transmitted it to you guys via subspace radio, in the form of texts 75, 607, 16. If you have a Universal Translator or understand High Darscian, then you might get more information out of the colonial period than this.
  • Lost the ability to talk to its Owners thousands of years ago; is gradually getting its abilities back as dual phase interphase levels are recovering

South

• Baphi - 247
  • Green and hospitable world, no apparent civilization
  • Abandoned colony
  • Wreckage may include an alien exercise machine granting enhanced speed
  • Can (possibly) harvest one Fluid for 4 phases

• Jaquar - 241
  • Darscian world - need to learn High Darscian (as above)
  • Market
    • 1 crystals for 1 iron
    • 2 crystals for 1 fuel
    • 3 crystals for 1 radioactives
  • 3-bay cargo drone ship available for 2 iron + 1 fuel
  • investigating inertial tech will get you a personal Mass & Inertial Control Belt

• Hootenaller - 359
  • Uninhabited, hospitable, no intelligent life
  • Free food if you take some time to collect it, it seems
  • Some weird stuff about spatial geometry in the area being messed up; dream sequence after resting here about Hootenaller being a "hole" in the barrier between normal space and "dual space", but that wall is disintegrating (and stuff about dual space being dangerous but powerful whatever blah blah)

• Fiyar - 351
  • Gas giant–type planet; uninhabitable except for... uh... pyramid ball players?
  • Mine for fuel (2 phases)
  • Search for warp core, a substance used in hyperdrives (3 phases)

• Koursh - 311
  • Crash landing when first arriving - takes a full turn to complete repairs
  • After investigating aliens (which is another full turn), you can leave safely and mine
  • Mine radioactives (3 phases, available after stuff above)
  • Unsure if the solution used to leave planet will let you safely land on returning later

East

• Hemidore - 163
  • Inhabited, planet almost entirely covered by water
  • Ships use special maneuverability technology
  • Increase your ship's maneuverability (4 phases)
  • Install a tractor beam (6 phases)

• Firthe - 226
  • Inhabited, old underwater cities
  • Translation machine can translate to and from Firthian; technology comes from Tralis
  • Super Space Suit Recipe
    • 1 Primordial Soup
    • 1 Super Slip
    • 1 Food
    • 1 Medicine
    • 1 Fiber
    • 1 Fluids
  • Purchase Particle Catalyst
    • 2 Computers, 2 Fiber, 1 Crystal, 1 Tools

West

• Darscold - 125
  • Darscian world
  • Market
    • 3 Culture for 1 Fluids
    • 3 Culture for 1 Radioactives
  • Can teach Serene Contemplation
  • Institute of Extra-Corporeal Sentience: 1 Synthetic Genius for: 2 Fluids, 2 Radioactives, 1 Fiber, 1 Crystals

• Fiara - 145
  • Darscian world - need to learn High Darscian (7 turns with telepathy or universal translator, otherwise 14)
  • Given technology and secret of space flight by "The Mentors" tens of thousands of years ago
  • Market
    • 3 Fiber for 1 Computers
    • 1 Fiber for 1 Crystals
    • 2 Fiber for 1 Medicine
  • Reaching anti-gravity facility requires crawling through high-gravity section, moving quickly required (?)

• Gnarsh - 91
  • At war. Attempting to land leads to ship-to-ship combat.

• Withal - 137
  • Market in orbiting space station, doing anything on planet requires teaching Withelians Earth Standard (7 turns)
  • 2 Computer + 1 Fiber + 1 Medicine -> 4-space cargo drone, will warp to markets anywhere you've visited, only takes one turn no matter how far away
  • Market
    • 1 Iron for 1 Crystals
    • 3 Iron for 1 Food
    • 2 Iron for 1 Medicine

• Corbis - 191
  • Abandoned world, non-sentient cat-like beings
  • Can harvest Fluids
  • Something slippery - maybe Super Slip is present?

• FLN-1 - 133
  • Can mine for radioactives
  • Repeating alien message
  • Hatch requires ship weapons to destroy

• Yrebe - 82
  • Iron planetoid, can mine for iron
  • Used to be creatures now living in the sun, wise and benevolent race allowed transformation to occur
  • Investigating day side causes ship damage (and no useful information)

Unknown or general information

• Rialla - ???
  • Can trade for Computers

• Darscian worlds
  • Darscold (original planet), Golden Age, trades Culture
  • Fiara, high gravity with anti-gravity technology, trades Fiber
  • Gazan, unstable with planet-quakes, trades Iron
  • Ioreth, poisonous, trades Medicine
  • Jaquar, strewn across cluster of asteroids, trades Crystals

• Organu - ???
  • Offers Munitions

Ship-to-ship items

• Attack
  • Combat
    • Boarding Robots - Computer-controlled attack robots that can occupy and overwhelm an opposing ship
    • Pressor Beam - A ship-to-ship weapon that repulses another ship away from you, with either a descrete "punch" or a steady "push".
  • Contact
    • Ram - A ship-to-ship weapon that allows one to attack an enemy ship by actually crashing into it. The ram is primitive in concept, but highly effective in aciton, particularly if the enemy is taken by surprise. The device itself is a large metal plow mounted on a ship's hull and structurally reinforced to withstand the impact of the collision.
    • Tractor Beam - A ship-to-ship weapon that attracts another ship towards you, with either a sharp "tug" or a steady "pull".
  • Projectile
    • Dimensional Eliminator - A ship-to-ship weapon that folds one of the spacial dimensions out of an enemy ship, causing the enemy ship to flatten out and disappear
    • Hyperbeam - A powerful weapon that shoots a beam of energy through hyperspace, bypassing all normal defenses
    • Nuclear Rockets - Guided missiles carrying gigaton-power nuclear warheads. Compared to more modern weapons, nuclear rockets are slow and inaccurate, but if they reach their target they are still very deadly.
    • Phase Cannon - A ship-to-ship weapon that shoots a steady, piercing energy beam across space.
    • Photon Torpedos - Small but powerful energy packets that travel at faster-than-light speeds across space and explode at a predetermined target.
    • Plasma Beam - A thin, very accurate, lower-powered energy beam useful in attacking small targets.
  • Special
    • Anti-Gravity Ray - A device used to counteract the effects of gravity
    • Black Cloud - A smokescreen of obscuring particles that blocks the functioning of an enemy ship's sensors in a region of space
    • Confuse Enemy Computers - The ability to control or misdirect an enemy ship's computer with transmissions from your own ship's computer
    • Entanglement Mines - Space buoys that, when triggered, project strong hypermagnetic forces, making it difficult for a spaceship to fly past
• Defense
  • Armor
    • Curvature Inductor - A device attached to a ship's hull that creates a curve in the fabric of space, causing matter and energy traveling towards the ship to change direction and veer away
    • Magnetic Deflectors - Powerful magnetic fields projected in front of a ship's hull to absorb energy attacks
    • Ship Shield Generator - An extremely useful device that projects a protective energy field around a ship to absorb both physical and energy attacks.
    • Stress Bulkheads - Extra supports for a spaceship's hull to help it absorb the impact of explosions, collisions, energy blasts, etc.
  • Mobility
    • Auxiliary Rockets - Extra thrusters that give a spaceship more speed and maneuverability
    • Turbo Navigation - Computer algorithms that enhance the speed and maneuverability of a spaceship by carefully coordinating the drive systems, power generator, directional controller, and other components.
    • Warp Winder - A device that dramatically increases a ship's speed for a short time, by initiating and controlling a feedback loop in the warp drive.
  • Special
    • Anti-Energy Field - An item that causes all energy within a region of space to be neutralized
    • E.C.M. - (Electronic Counter Measures) Jamming, interference, and other electronic mechanisms for disrupting the functioning of another ship's navigation, sensor, and computer systems
    • Pulse Inverter - A ship defense system that reverses the direction of incoming energy beams
    • Stealth System - Technology that electromagnetically camouflages a spaceship, making it difficult for enemy sensors to detect.
    • Stress Field - A weapon that creates powerful shock waves in space, alternately pressuring and depressuring an enemy ship's hull and internal supports.
    • Technology Nullifier - A device that prevents the operation of all electronic equipment in its area of effect.

Hand-to-hand items

• Attack
  • Contact
    • Stunner - A common hand weapon that delivers an electric shock when it touches your enemy
    • Piercer - A cheap and easily obtained hand-to-hand weapon that uses a powerful energy "blade" to cut through most materials
    • Kothan - A combat ability that allows one to strike at an enemy with great strength and accuracy
    • Molecular Disrupter - A hand-held weapon shaped like a walking staff, with a metallic tip capable of dissolving the molecular bonds in a living creature's cells
    • Poisoning - An ability which allows you to effectively poison your enemy during combat
  • Projectile
    • Blaster - A common hand-held weapon that shoots an energy beam over a short distance (good against a fierce animal)
    • Exploder - A common hand weapon that shoots chemical explosive charges. Less powerful and less accurate than a blaster, but also less vulnerable to anti-energy and anti-technology defenses (good against someone with a laser shield)
    • Disintegration Gun - A hand-held weapon that uses an ultra high frequency energy beam to cause an object to fade out of existence
    • Ninchuckle - A strangle shaped weapon that, for those with the skill to use it, can be thrown at an enemy, delivering a knockout blow
    • Pin Rifle - A simple projectile weapon that shoots various kinds of treated needles. The needles can be sharp, explosive, poisonous, blunted, or tranquilizing, depending on the effect desired
  • Special
    • Hypnotic Gas Sprayer - A device that sprays a potent brain-relaxing chemical, causing most living creatures to go into a hypnotic trance
    • Immobilizer - A hand-held weapon that generates a stasis field, freezing an enemy in place for a short time
    • Little Puce Alien - A small purplish creature who likes to float above your left shoulder
    • Neuron Whip - An electromagnetic wave designed to interfere with the normal transmission of neural signals between the brain and muscles of living creatures, causing intense pain
    • Telekinesis - The power to exert physical force with the mind alone, causing objects to move around just by thinking about it
• Defense
  • Armor
    • Laser Reflector - A protective shield, worn over the chest and torso, which deflects concentrated energy beams. A laser reflector is a useful defense against most energy weapons, such as blasters and ray guns
    • Skin Armor - Close fitting personal protective gear, designed to combine a high degree of defense with a near-normal freedom of motion
    • Force Field - A protective energy barrier that surrounds a person, creating an "invisible wall" that blocks both physical and energy attacks
    • Internal Reorganization - The ability to move one's internal organs around, making one less vulnerable to attack and speeding up healing
  • Mobility
    • Missile Toes - A colloquial merchandising name for rocket-assisted footwear, designed to give the wearer greater speed and agility in endeavors such as ballet, sports, and hand-to-hand combat (good indoors)
    • Rocket Pack - A rocket-propelled device strapped onto a person's back that enables one to fly short distances (good outdoors)
    • Darthan - A combat skill that enables a person to evade enemy blows with great speed and precision
    • Inertia Control Belt - A device that controls the effects of inertia and momentum on a person, allowing one to instantaneously change speed and direction
    • Superhuman Speed - The ability to run almost as fast as your favorite comic book hero
  • Special
    • Invisibility - The ability to sneak around unseen; especially useful in tiptoeing up behind your friends and yelling "Boo!!"
    • Levitation - The ability to elevate oneself off the floor just by thinking about it
    • Mental Shield - A mentally projected force which protects you from running into walls and keeps other things from running into you (such as bullets, rocks, and knives)
    • Phrmm - The ability to put a living creature in the mood to be peaceful and friendly
    • Serene Contemplation - The ability to meditate calmly under great stress, allowing one to think more clearly and react faster
    • Whurffle - The ability to see a few moments into the future, which comes in handy for dodging projectiles or evading ambushes

Mysteries and Backstory

Dual Space

• Apparently, there's some sort of dual space thing which might be like subspace or hyperspace maybe?
• Sometimes the connection to it is weaker or stronger; right now, we're becoming more connected to it (or the wall between us and it is weakening)
• There's a hole between normal space and dual space at Hootenholler
• Cordethar (the Monitoring computer planet that's been recording everything for thousands of years) will be able to contact its Owners again soon because of dual space interphase levels recovering

Vanessa Chang

• A legendary explorer from centuries past. It's her maps that we've been given (by a mysterious guy in a bar) to help us explore the galaxy.
• Used to keep a stash of stuff on Cordethar, including flame jewels where she got from the Galactic Arm (on the other side of the Barrier)
• Everyone who had a tri-axis drive bought their jewels from her
• Eventually encountered something so scary out there that she gathered everyone with a tri-axis together on a planet called Outpost to convince them to stop traveling past the Barrier anymore
  • Laran is looking for the Outpost because (a) that's supposedly where his forbears met the Gods, and (b) that's where he can find the seventh and final sacred text of his religion, the one that explains everything.
  • And the Archangel's crew were also freaked out by whatever was out there; they planned the Outpost trip together with Vanessa
  • Also, Vanessa took all of her flame jewels with her when they left

Tri-Axis Drive

• Can be made from a warp core, gradient filter, iron, crystals, fuel, flame jewel (if you know how) -- but flame jewels are extremely rare
• Can be used to pass the High Density Barrier
• A relevant quote I came across while exploring the Archangel: "The standard Wamirian hyperdrive in use today is the two-axis drive, which suspends the warp core between two anentropic fields, one for each axis. Back in the flying days of the Archangel, the two-axis drive was only a theory, and all ships had but a single axis. This hull, though, seems to have been modified to mount a second and third anentropic field generator."

Mentors/Others/Etc.

• Various races of aliens have a story about a race of aliens who visited them at a point when their civilization was in trouble, who helped them find a new philosophy/way of life
• May or may not be related to Cordethar's Owners or the roughly contemporary Clathrans