Wanting to run a solaris campaign

[Stallion12]

So I'm thinking of doing the first impressions campaign, modified for atow. Got 3 players interested, any tips? Any other good solaris ideas I could use?

[monbvol]

Ah Solaris.  Players in my group like to flood Cathay, kill Kelly Metz, and just generally bring all sorts of pain and suffering.

It is one of the easiest places to have a diverse group of characters without it being a headache.

A common thing I tend to do when I run Solaris campaigns is I try and get organized crime involved early on one way or the other and try to play up the corruption of the whole setting.

Aside from that the only thing that might be a bit tough to wing is figuring the odds of the fights.

[Stallion12]

What mech does Kelly have?

[monbvol]

Ti Tsiang.

So she might be a bit era specific to use for your adventure.  I'm not actually familiar with any campaign/adventure called First Impressions.  Solaris though has a fair amount of stuff put out for it.

[Maelwys]

Solaris is a hotbed of criminal activity, so organized crime is a definite possibility, and not only do you have just one criminal organization, but each different sector could have one, causing complicated issues (You're a Lyran MW who was told by the Yak in the Kobe sector that you better win your next fight while the Mafia in the FedSuns sector said you'd better lose your next fight...)

You've also got things like spying and sabotage, maybe you're not a MW but a tech, and you've been hired to sabotage a stable's Mechs...

And if things are too peaceful, depending on when you're running the game, you can have large scale fights happening as well...

[Tai Dai Cultist]

One of the more memorable roleplaying scenes I've ever had came in a Solaris campaign.

One of the characters was beset by annoying tourists that managed to slip their guided tour of the Mech Stable and got into the mech hangar.  The player had just climbed out of his mech after losing a 2 on 2 match and was not happy about being pressed by "know it all" tourists asking why he didn't zig when he should have zagged, etc.  His partymate saved him: he was the next mech coming into the hangar, complete with all the battle damage accrued from having just participated in a losing battle.  That player deliberately caused his mech to slip and fall, aiming the hulk to smoosh the tourists while sparing his teammate.

He was able to satisfactorily explain to the sector police that it wasn't cold blooded murder... those were unauthorized personnel in a very hazardous environment.  What happened to those tourists is exactly why the mech hangar is a restricted area!

[Stallion12]

First impressions is from a mechwarrior guide to solaris.

[Stallion12]

Do clan characters fit in solaris?

[Tai Dai Cultist]

Do clan characters fit in solaris?

They do, in various ways depending on the timeline.  Keep in mind even in the 3050s era Solaris setting matierals, there were already (presumed) Clanners as gladiators in the Huntsmen stable.

Besides gladiators, there's Clan diplomatic and trade missions in canon on Solaris as well.

And of course in the most current timeline, Solaris is a Wolf Empire planet where the arenas are also used as Circles of Equals for various trials.

[Stallion12]

Interesting, I'm doing jI had era for now, mainly because that's what the rulebook is set up for and I can have the blasts attack.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

you can also keep in mind that during the Jihad, there's a whole story arc where the Blakists conquer the planet and they're thrown back offworld with help from gladiators banding together

[Nav_Alpha]

you can also keep in mind that during the Jihad, there's a whole story arc where the Blakists conquer the planet and they're thrown back offworld with help from gladiators banding together

Which is a fantastic ATOW campaign. Imagine being a new team of gladiators - maybe you all served in different outfits during the Civil War and frankly hate each other.
Grudges matches build as you climb the ladder after a couple fights.
Then! The Word arrives!

These former rivals now need to trust each other, trust other rivals from other stables.
And say goodbye to your glitz and glamour - you're swapping sexy groupies and high end parties for insurgency, creeping through the sewers, desperately trying to steal a new  ride and hit back at the Word.

Maybe some of the team/an important NPC go over to the Word?

[Finlos]

Nav_Alpha, that is a fantastic premise for a S7 campaign!  Mind if I shamelessly steal it for my group?

[Tegyrius]

Besides gladiators, there's Clan diplomatic and trade missions in canon on Solaris as well.

When do those show up in the timeline? I'm toying with a pre-Jihad mercenary unit concept that would loosely tie the advent of Clanners on Solaris into its founding.

[Nav_Alpha]

Nav_Alpha, that is a fantastic premise for a S7 campaign!  Mind if I shamelessly steal it for my group?

Go ahead and enjoy!

[Tai Dai Cultist]

When do those show up in the timeline? I'm toying with a pre-Jihad mercenary unit concept that would loosely tie the advent of Clanners on Solaris into its founding.

The Huntsmen Stables show up shortly after the Clans do.  My own headcanon is they're disgraced survivors of Tukayyid that have been disowned by their respective Clans, but that's not official.  They are however heavily hinted at as being Clanners though.

The Falcon Embassy was put on Solaris... I'm fairly sure prior to the Civil War.  Perhaps it is also a post-Tukayyid thing.  I think the Wolves also have a recurring but less official presence, perhaps via their merchant classes.  Certainly Wolves-in-Exile will periodically visit Solaris once they begin to exist.

Going purely into theory, the Ghost Bears may also set up some kind of presence once they begin to transition into the Dominion so as to vet any of the substantial Rasalhaguian diaspora living on Solaris that may wish to return home under the New Order.

[Jackmc]

immediately post-Jihad, S7 seems to have made a roaring comeback.  Likely as a way for Stone to scrap the majority of the confiscated mechs in a way that minimized the amount of support against disarmament that the nobles might have be able to get out of the public.  Lots of story hooks right there.

-Jackmc

[Nav_Alpha]

immediately post-Jihad, S7 seems to have made a roaring comeback.  Likely as a way for Stone to scrap the majority of the confiscated mechs in a way that minimized the amount of support against disarmament that the nobles might have be able to get out of the public.  Lots of story hooks right there.

-Jackmc

FM: 3085 and the later Jihad books reveals Solaris is pretty much a lawless war zone until the mid-80s as mercs, pirates and former gladiators square off over territory.
Lots of work suppressing rogue mercs in the boonies with only the city held by the rebels who threw off the Word and have created a stable-ish government.