One question from a backer

This is an expanded version of an update that was shared on our latest (at the time of writing) Kickstarter campaign: Starship Scavengers: Ghosts of Voidspire.

Campaign runs until Tue, October 20 2026 10:00 PM BST

I repost it on the blog as the design thinking might be of interest to people who are not currently a backer of the campaign. It all started as a question from a backer:

This is the kind of feedback that is extremely useful to a creator like me. I think it was mid-last year when another backer posted asking for more adventures set on starships. That prompted me to produce Gorgon's Wake, and also The Toru Directive.

Now, those two backers have different preferences clearly. Razor's comment got me thinking though - 'Exactly how many ship vs. surface adventures have we had?' So, yesterday I took some time and went through everything released so far and here is the breakdown:

As you can see, several of the adventures span multiple locations and The Case of the Asteroid Blues has a bit of everything - including several mini-games as well! (Which is why it comes in two booklets!) As it hasn't been released yet, the free adventure that is pending (to be released in October) wasn't listed but for completeness I can confirm it takes place onboard a starship.

That isn't the whole picture however, so let's look at what has appeared in the Frontier Gazette issues:

These are shorter games or adventures and the Gazette is a publication for expanding the lore whilst also experimenting with different mechanics or new ideas. Hence why there is a majority of mini-games as they provide an opportunity for variety in gameplay.

From Gazette #3 I've taken to tying in the games or mini-adventure in the Gazette to the adventure that they are published alongside. Down in the Deep, for example, isn't a prequel to Asteroid Blues but it is set immediately before that adventure and explains why you are in that part of the system.

I make sure they also function independently so if you just want to play the adventure you can do that. In Firebird Down for example, one of the characters that you are looking to rescue in the adventure was taken from a certian location.

You get to investigate that location in Firebird Lost in Gazette #3 and learn more about the background events.Again, you'll see there is some variety in location although it is fair to say that mini games by their nature operate differently so you are less 'exploring a location' as you are in the main adventures. Ten Days on the Tarquin Plains is an exception to that I would say as it is very much about travelling around.

Back to the question raised by Razor Fang. So the question is can we have more 'planetary adventures' and they also specifically mention alien creatures or civilisations.

I think it would be accurate to say that we've had two adventures that scratch that itch (plus a short freebie that came out one Thanksgiving Day) are Trouble on Helanga and Ten Days on the Tarquin Plains as noted above.

My design philosophy for Scavengers has always been about presenting a blended future where humans are simply one species amongst many and I've leant away from the usual concept of 'alien civilisations' being 'alien'. They are more simply 'there' and characters in the worlds need to learn their ways to interact with them. Their lifestyles might influence the stories (as on Helanga) or the actions of some NPCs but their societies tend to be background dressing more than plot points. (More a 'there are aliens' than 'meet the aliens' style.)

To my mind, by taking that approach it helps me focus on locations [You are in X cool location] and situations [the energy crystal in the cool location is about to overload] which your player characters can then interact with.

Maybe I'm wrong though, perhaps more 'meet the aliens' would resonate with people? Do let me know in the comments.

Razor's question is so useful because it triggers questions like this. I design with as much variety as possible (as you can see from the graphics above) but to know what people would prefer (rather than assuming or going with my preferences) is extremely helpful. Which leads us to our poll:

-- And at this point we come to the expanded section for the blog -- I know the person behind Razor and they are a long standing backer and supporter of Grinning Frog content (thank you). They subsequently added in a different comment that meeting other members of the alien species presented in the System Guide would be one of the things they'd like to see. That would help build up the alien civilisations that they mentioned in their first comment. I think they have a point. And Ben has championed in the office that any stories we run should be in the star system that I put a lot of time and energy into creating. In fact, it was that decision that changed the tenth adventure from a starship graveyard location to the lost asteroid city of Voidspire. The graveyard I had in mind is situated outside of the Heinlein system. Not, of course, that we will limit ourselves to a single star system, but for the tenth adventure? It seemed to make sense to stay within it. What has been interesting to me as a game designer and adventure writer over the last three years is what you can introduce, and what you can't in an adventure. What fits well:

• Specific names of locations, ships, people and 'things'

• Events for the player character to be directly involved with

• Introduction of lore relating to what is encountered and general background information

  
  

What fits better in a supplement:

• Detailed lore specific to events appearing in current or recently released adventures

• Detailed background which presents broad content

• New styles of content and new mechanics

I believe the primary focus of an adventure is for it to be a good adventure. That means a variety of challenges, good cohesive story and solid adversaries. That means any world-building is usually limited to brief teases or name-drops -- outside of the primary story description and setting of course.

For example: 'AOD Inc produced some of the finest security doors in the sector, you are going to need the passcodes to get in.' (Imaginary adventure text).

We've now said that AOD Inc are a top notch security door supplier. And that's enough for an adventure but in a supplement we could talk about their share price taking a knock after a string of high profile robberies where their doors were breached.

We could further mention that AOD stands for Area of Denial and that their main corporate rival in the sector, the Mantid based Hard Rock Security Conglomeration had taken out some mocking adverts about the only denial going on was the refusal of AOD Inc to confess that their doors were rubbish. In other words, we can have some fun and play around with things that are throwaway in an adventure as they aren't pivotal for the adventure but give us something to build on.

Incidentally, the rival corporation is a Mantid corporation (a species of humanoid insects and one of the sentient races in the Heinlein system). I've had them pop up in different ways (their music is almost universally considered terrible for example) but we haven't had an adventure on one of their worlds. Expect that to change in the future thanks to Razor's comment.

Also, having come up with those two companies for the above example I suspect they will be more formally introduced soon! Listening is Vital

I used to be a corporate trainer, and listening is a skill that many executives could be better at. I believe it is the cornerstone of building a business because it enables you to build a relationship with your customers/supporters/backers.

Razor asked a question which has sparked a conversation and I'm listening. If you have a thought on Starship Scavengers, or any of our games, please drop me a line and let me know. We've created entire games because people have made suggestions so do write in and let us know. hello@thegrinningfrog.com will reach me. (I'm working at home at the moment on shortened hours so do please allow me a little time to get back to you.) Also, here's the campaign link again if you'd like to see the details. Open for backing until Tue, October 20 2026 10:00 PM BST:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegrinningfrog/starship-scavengers-ghosts-of-voidspire Until next time, keep gaming. Stephen