sum1els's Stargate SG-1 D20 RPG page

This page contains resources specific to the Stargate SG-1 D20 RPG campaign I am running.

Setting

The game begins after the first episode of Season Two. The Stargate Program is preparing to resume normal operations after a nearly complete shutdown. Despite Senator Kinsey's opposition, the program received new life after SG-1 thwarted Apophis and Klorel's attack on Earth. The SGC is taking this opportunity to add a few more SG teams to its rolls. The date is early January 1998, about a month after the Goa'uld attack. (This assumes that Kinsey's attack on the Stargate Program occurred shortly after the November elections, and the Goa'uld attack came about two weeks later.)

Player Characters will constitute one of these new SG teams: SG-10. This team designation is associated with an Exploration role. This means that the team will they will have a mixed composition and will persue adventures in the style of the TV show.

Existing Player Characters

Players may use their character from my first game, but I encourage everyone to make a new character. PCs from the first game may require a few changes. Keep these points in mind for making the transition:

Experience - The PC will retain its previous XP level, but that experience will have been gained outside of the Stargate Program.
Background - This game takes place several years before the previous game. In some cases, the PC's background needs modification to fit the earlier time frame.
Gear - The PC may not have access to the same gear as before.
Records - I will require a legible and complete character record for each character (see below.)

New Player Characters

Although the Stargate SG-1 RPG provides rules for a wide variety of backgrounds and species, Player Characters must meet several restrictions for this game.

Stats - Stargate personnel must be exceptionally well qualified, so new characters may choose basic stats using a 36 point buy system.
Specialty/Species - PCs will be limited to the following (human only) specialty/species choices:
- Air Force (Any)
- Enlisted Marine Recruit
- (Enlisted) Marine Force Reconnaissance
- Civilian Specialist
- I will consider proposals for other backgrounds on a case-by-case basis
Classes - Characters may gain levels in any class or prestige class found in the first four Stargate SG-1 rulebooks: the core rulebook, Fantastic Frontiers, Living Gods, or Friends and Foes. (However, the specialty/species requirements above will disqualify PCs from many classes, including all non-human classes.)
Skills - PCs may learn any skills in the first four Stargate SG-1 rulebooks that do not require exposure to alien worlds or technology. I will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Spycraft rulebooks may provide an additional source of skills, if they are reasonable.
Feats - PCs may select from any feats in the first four Stargate SG-1 rulebooks that do not require exposure to alien worlds or technology. I will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. I will probably not allow Spycraft feats, since they tend not to translate well into the Stargate system.
Rank - The character rank system is not very realistic, especially when applied to heroic characters and the rate at which they gain experience. In order to affect the rate of rank advancement without devising an entirely new system, I have devised the following rank trade-off system:
- PCs must track Rank Credits earned. (RC; rather than RP, which denotes Resource Points.)
- First level characters begin at Rank level 1 with 2 RC.
- PCs earn RC instead of Rank levels; +1 RC when GP from classes reaches 4, 7, 10, etc. RC growth is unlimited, though Rank is not.
- Rank Levels cost 1 RC. No more than 5 RC may be used to buy Rank Levels.
- First level PCs (only) may trade:
  - 1 RC for 4 skill points, 2 RC for 10 skill points.
  - 1 RC per skill to always treat the skill as a class skill.
  - 2 RC for any Covert, Gear, Terrain, or Unarmed Combat feat.
- Anyone may trade 1 RC for the Extra Supplies or Extra Support feat. Note that a PC may choose each of these feats up to 3 times.
Gear - I will be updating the list of bundles and kits as time allows. One notable change is that the MP5 is the standard-issue weapon rather than the P90. Other weapons commonly used by the SGC in 1997 were the M249 SAW and the M16, sometimes with an M203 grenade launcher. I will be a bit more reluctant to issue non-standard weapons to everyone than I was before. Players are encouraged to speak with me if their character concept includes a special weapon.
Records - I will require a legible and complete character record for each character (see below.)
Experience - new characters will begin with 10K XP. Bonus XP will be awarded for following these guidelines:
- +4K Character Record complete and accurate.
- +1K Character Record is turned in to me by 1/14.
- +4K Character history detailed and complete.
- +1K Character history turned in to me by 1/14.
- +2K Character personality profile detailed and complete.

Character Record

Each PC must have a character sheet and background that I can make sense of. This is not intended as a punishment, but it will help me to make sure that the PCs don't have errors, and will help me to tailor the game to the team. The more details each player provides, the better I will be able to create adequate, interesting, and attainable challenges for the team. It will also help me play a character when its player cannot attend a game session.

Stats - The various available character sheets provide enough detail for most of PC stats, and their breakdown. If a box is labeled "misc" make sure that it is clear where the bonus or penalty in question came from.
Skills - The PC record should clearly indicate the source of all skill points (e.g. Starting: 12, Levels: 15, RC buy: 4.) It should be clear which skills are class and cross-class skills. The source of each skill bonus should also be easily identifiable, and bonuses which are applied to a skill conditionally should be indicated.
Feats - Each feat should be listed with its source and a page reference. I prefer the format [source, level, restrictions, feat name, book-page, effect]. For example, a Soldier might have the following feats:
- AF Recruit, 1, bonus, Point Blank Shot, 1-250, +1 in 1 r.i.
- Character, 1, none, Perfect Stance, 1-250, free brace w/aim +
- Soldier, 1, combat, Quick Healer, 1-243, x2 natural healing
- Soldier, 1, granted, Armor Group Proficiency (Light, Medium, Heavy), 1-241
- Soldier, 1, granted, Weapon Group Proficiency (Hurled, Melee, Handgun, Rifle, Tactical), 1-244
- RC buy, 1, covert-gear-terrain-unarmed, Martial Arts, 1-254, unarmed 1d6 + no -4 + threat 20
History - Each character should have a detailed history, including previous residences, tours of duty, institutions of education, and any relevant employment. The history should mention names of important people in the character's life, especially family members, friends, rivals, contacts, and enemies.
Personality Profile - I would like some insight to the character's inner thoughts, goals, pet peeves, and views that may affect the character's decisions. When time allows I will provide a list of questions to help players clarify the personalities of their characters.

Schedule

This game will take place most Monday evenings at 7:00. It will be held at my house unless otherwise noted. We will not usually meet the first Monday of each month and the day after any Wilkes Game Day, but these are general guidelines that may change from month-to-month. I will attempt to keep an accurate schedule below.

The Stargate SG-1 game shares its time with Jason's Wheel of Time RPG, and Jason and I will trade back and forth every month or so to give us each a break from GMing. I will include WoT meetings on this schedule, but all other details will be left to Jason. If a web resource is created for the WoT game I will link to it here.

January 10 - Character generation and background development. We will discuss the new setting and the goals of the new campaign.
Friday, January 14 - (No meeting.) Character records are due so I can have the adventure ready by Monday.
January 17 - Rookies - SG-10 embarks on its first off-world mission.
- Three members of SG-10 (Maj. Kisko C. Dyson, Cpl. William E. Brandon, and A1c. Robert A. Goldstone) report to the Alpha Site for their first off-world assignment. O'Neill and Teal'c meet the team and run them through a combat drill, firing on moving ballistic dummies in Serpent Guard armor. Goldstone, the sniper, proves to be observant as well as an excellent shot, and spots Teal'c's flanking maneuver. Training is interrupted by a call from the SGC; SG-1 is needed for an urgent mission, and returns to Earth immediately. Sgt. Dan Nevada from the Alpha Site staff assigns SG-10 to a scouting mission.
- XP Awards:
  - 300 (Dyson, Brandon, Goldstone) First trip through Stargate, met half of SG-1, met O'Neill's challenge.
  - 100 (Goldstone) Demonstrated alert tactical thinking.
January 24 - Alpha Site Perimeter - SG-10 searches for a nearby river crossing.
- The large river near the Alpha Site has been scouted 5km in each direction, and no suitable ford or easily bridgeable gap has been found. Lt. Mi'Chella Jones Joins the team. They begin by scouting from a nearby overlook. They spot something reflecting light from a clearing to the south. Deciding to investigate, the team procures a zodiac and heads downstream. The team finds a suitable ford, but proceeds down river to an island near the clearing where the reflection was seen. As daylight fades, they decide to camp for the evening.
  The next morning, SG-10 approaches and investigates the odd-shaped clearing, which appears to be a crash site. No trace of the crashed vessel is found, other than a pile of large colorful crystals in the center of the crater. Remains, possibly human, are found near the crater. Upon further inspection, a human-shaped area around the bone fragments is covered with a thin iridescent sheen. Nothing appears to be growing on the sheen directly, but as the crash site appears to be at least a hundred years old, a lot of debris has fallen onto the area, and that decaying debris supports a good deal of life.
  The team finds a cairn near the other end of the clearing. The cairn appears to be pointing southwest. SG-10 decides to return to the island for the evening. A call to the Alpha Site base camp alerts the team that the SGC is performing an evacuation of a planet under Goa'uld attack, and that refugees are coming to the Alpha Site.
- XP Awards:
  - 500 (Dyson, Brandon, Goldstone, Jones) Group award.
  - ??? (Who) Individual bonus.
January 31 - Crash Site - SG-10 investigates a crash site.
- SG-10 returns to the crash site and searches for more clues. The mysterious iridescent sheen is found to cover a large area in the crater at the end of the clearing, the area where the crashed vessel probably came to rest. An investigation of the cairn turned up nothing. Upon reporting in to base camp, the team learns that due to an emergency on Earth, no gate travel will be allowed to or from the SGC until further notice.
  The team scouts in the direction the cairn is pointing. They find two large, mysterious spheres, which they determine are made of hematite. One of the man-sized spheres is on a stand, and the other is beside a similar stand. The stand appears to be a large, bottomless tube of hematite. There are also signs that someone, perhaps one of the crash survivors, attempted to place the sphere back onto its stand.
  A short distance away, the team finds the remains of a crude shelter and the remains of one person. Artifacts discovered at the shelter lead the team to believe that a substance contained by the hematite spheres disolves metals. SG-10 collects samples and returns to the Alpha Site Base camp for analysis.
  The base camp is filled with refugees, livestock, and wounded. SG-10 reports to the SGC that there may be a grave risk to the Alpha Site, and requests specialized equipment. The SGC agrees to send the equipment as soon as the situation on the base is resolved.
- XP Awards:
  - 700 (Dyson, Brandon, Goldstone, Jones) Group award.
  - ??? (Who) Individual bonus.
February 28 - - .
- XP Awards:
  - ??? (Who) Group award.
  - ??? (Who) Individual bonus.

SG-10 (The Team)

This is a brief description of each of the members of SG-10. Follow the links for more information.

Major Kisko C. Dyson is the Air Force officer who comands the team.
Corporal William E. Brandon is a tough Marine mechanic.
Airman First-Class Robert A. Goldstone is a sniper who is much better than his rank suggests.
Lieutenant Mi'Chella Jones is an ancient languages expert.

Other Resources:

The official Stargate SG-1 D20 RPG homepage.
Window of Opportunity has lots of resources, but may be closing soon.
Stargate-RPG.com also has lots of resources and links to useful information.
The Richard Dean Anderson fansite has a lot of non-RPG Stargate SG-1 material.
(More to come as time allows.)