Victory By Any Means campaign

[kealios]

So I just found that VBAM sells a PDF campaign package on their site for only $20, so I couldnt resist. I've seen many people mention that they run VBAM campaigns...

I havent even looked at the material yet. Do you have any advice, those of you who have used it, on any streamlining or changes that need to be made for CBF to run smoothly in it?

[TheDreadnought]

We actually briefly partnered with the VBAM guys on creating a CBF version of their rules. It kinda fell by the wayside however.

You can definitely use the rules. . . I think there's a lot more to them than is really necessary. Probably the reason the project got shelved was because of how much I wanted them to strip out to make it more streamlined.

[kealios]

I agree that it is super bloated. If and when I ever get a chance to play them, I'll reduce it by like 50% or more.

I was hoping for someone who had already played with VBAM rules, who had their own ideas for how to seamlessly use CBT.

I can do it on my own, in time...

I'll need to determine how to start your basic tech tree (like, maybe each player gets 5 points to spend, etc), and what each point of "Tech advancement" gets you (Im assuming it would translate to 1 more point to spend).

Ships? I'll need a way to spend what you get on tonnage.

Anyway, if no one has done this before me, I'll get something written up eventually...

[captainquirk]

I looked at - and playtested - on one of their partnership projects. They cover pretty much everything. However, I found them to have more complexity than I want to game. CBF is about perfect for the level of complexity I prefer these days, and VBAM has a LOT more detail. There are some nice ideas in there. But too much to fit in to the amount of gaming time I have available. And some of the detail just feels too much like my day job to actually be fun.

[kealios]

Agreed. Maybe I can cut-and-paste it down to a manageable level? Or, you know, wait for Dreadnought to get off his butt and finish more projects

I had a friend invited over today to teach him CBT. My new, shiny mat from CorSec was out, the GZG fleet had all their magnets from CorSec installed...and then said friend called and canceled. I almost cried

[captainquirk]

I feel your pain! I only have one person who plays CBF against me, and he hasn't been able to play a game for ages and ages...

There are actually some nice aspects to VBAM's detail. Stuff that goes well beyond anything I've seen elsewhere. For instance, the version I was looking at had a planetary's population loyalty and stability affecting production and so on. The battle simulator seemed to produce Ok results for encounters I didn't game out as a tabletop battle.

My own leanings for a campaign background for CBF is now more towards using a map similar to the ones used in Traveller. Or more specifically like the old Traveller board games such as Imperium. Or like the map Mongoose had produced for their Babylon 5 game...unable to find it in full now, but here is a taster of it:

www.dispari.net/wp/mapmaking/image_069/

Basically I would be going with a map which has defined jump routes - some fo these will always be natural points of conflict. Who wouldn't want to control the star system which has five or six jump points? Friendly or conquered worlds will yield resources. I think I'd use a tonnage base and a maximum hulls of a certain size restriction for new construction - not every shipyard will be capable of building capital ships.

To be honest, haven't really developed my ideas very far. Maybe there is room for the forum to develop some campaign system ideas?

[kealios]

There is this posted in the House Rules:

www.steeldreadnought.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cbhr&action=display&thread=266

Ive got it printed out, and maybe I'll just use it. After all, its tailored to CBF and looks to be just what I need.

[captainquirk]

I'd forgotten all about those!

[TheDreadnought]

FYI -

Starting talks with the VBAM guys again. Might see some kind of joint project happen.