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Post by Rigil Kent on Jul 22, 2018 11:06:30 GMT -6
ThemeLooking into the Abyss: Can a sophont swim with the darkest side of humanity and not lose themselves? Shorthand would be: The Expanse meets Miami Vice. Central TensionIn the highly balkanized star system that is Porozlo, a highly addictive new nano-drug known as 'tempest' has appeared on the markets. From the mainworld itself to the domed colonies orbiting the system's great gas giant, tempest is causing major problems, which significantly complicates Count Para Anjiliac's efforts to unify the fractious nation-states of Porozlo. To that end, he has issued a Comital Warrant, granting select personages considerable power to circumvent local bureaucracy in order to find the source of this plague and shut it down. Character NotesAs stated by the theme, "Miami Vice" is a heavy influence here so my current thinking is that the PC(s) (or some of them at the very least) are law enforcement agents of some sort who are going undercover to infiltrate various criminal organizations responsible for the distribution and probably import of this drug in-system. Since this game will involve travelling through the star system as well - GM wants to emulate the feel of the Expanse setting as much as he can within the confines of the existing Traveller universe - PC(s) should be capable of serving as crew for a ship as well (though that may theoretically come later.) Note that not all PCs actually have to be LEOs - it is entirely possible that just a few PCs (or heck, maybe even just one!) will be operating under the Comital Warrant (which is only good in the systems that fall under the Count's domain) and must thus pull a Commander Shepard to organize a loyal team (of fellow PCs). Specifics about character(s) are still to be worked out, of course. My preference is to use GURPS, but I could potentially be convinced to try a different system (Mongoose Traveller itself, perhaps?) though that could lead to additional issues with everyone involved having to work through the learning curve of a new system. Time PeriodTwelve years have passed since the Fifth Frontier War (Imperium year 1122), time enough for the balkanized system that is Porozlo to rebuild itself, time enough for old, bad habits to resurface and for chaos to flourish. Throughout the subsector, mercenaries call Porozlo ‘Warworld’ and come to join the almost constant brushfire wars that engulf the main world even as more civilized sophonts reach for the stars.
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Post by WxMAN on Jul 22, 2018 15:58:24 GMT -6
MGT2e! Simple system, especially relative to GURPS ;-)
(I actually don't care about the system as much as I'm just happy to have some sci-fi... though I know others have... issues... with GURPS)
Though, my vote should either count as half or not at all because I don't know how much I'll be around at the time its run unless it is after May '19
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jul 23, 2018 13:14:17 GMT -6
So, I've got four Yes votes - nothing from MagMan or Xenocore, but they could still chime in with commentary as appropriate - so I'm going to consider this a go. I'll start spinning up some additional information for a sub-board...
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Post by WxMAN on Jul 23, 2018 15:12:03 GMT -6
I'll start bringing my TI-83+ for integral and natural log calculations we'll be doing!
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jul 23, 2018 15:26:08 GMT -6
I'll start bringing my TI-83+ for integral and natural log calculations we'll be doing! Yeah, I'm trying to figure out a way to let you do your maths stuff without the rest of us turning into gibbering lunatics as you break our brains with orbital vector calculations ... I kind of wanted to figure out a way to rip off this but with my data (FREX, I moved the MainWorld from slot 2 to slot 3) as well as incorporating the moons for travel times ... but alas...
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Post by WxMAN on Jul 23, 2018 16:05:13 GMT -6
Ha! I appreciate it, but I don't know if the maths is needed or really useful for folks
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Post by Magman on Jul 23, 2018 19:56:02 GMT -6
Voted yes. I wouldn't necessarily say absolutely positively but interested I might be absolutely positively if run with something besides Gurps but that's just me. For me being a cop again Thanks for your time
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Post by Rigil Kent on Jul 23, 2018 20:42:19 GMT -6
Voted yes. I wouldn't necessarily say absolutely positively but interested That's good news, I suppose. As stated, though, that's going to end up having its own issues, what with the not knowing the new(er) system. If the group consensus is "try a different system," then I'll see what I can do. Everything is still up in the air. Just because this is a "sanctioned" op by the count doesn't mean that all of the PCs have to start out read-in. And, for that matter, maybe you might be recruited for some other reason than being a cop. FREX, a hacker could be useful or a starship pilot/crewmember, etc.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Mar 4, 2019 14:02:18 GMT -6
I might be absolutely positively if run with something besides Gurps Well, for what's worth, I started looking at this campaign idea again after glancing over the landscape of existing or planned games (LabRat - post-Apoc; CJ - modern with vampires; WxMAN - fantasy; Magman - fantasy; Giger - unknown) and realized that we don't have anything space-based and I know at least WxMAN wants space stuff. So I'm currently leaning toward resuscitating this campaign idea and using Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition ... but setting it in Giger's Steel Ships and Space Marines setting because I just really don't care much for the Traveller-verse and I want a more "The Expanse" kind of feel. At the moment, I'm slowly reading through and absorbing MGT2e. Skill use seems pretty simple (2d6 plus or minus bonuses for high skill level (1 through 5) or penalties for being unskilled (-3). They've got a Boon and Bane mechanic that I'm unsure about - super awesome tools while trying to repair a starship engine, for example, would be a Boon while nothing but a screwdriver and a hammer would be a Bane; for the former, you roll an extra d6 and then discard the lowest result, while with Bane you roll an extra d6 and discard the highest - but overall, it seems relatively simple. Am trying to absorb Combat now and then later, I'll move onto starships and space combat and then maybe psionics if someone wants that option... Which means session 1 (whenever/if it happens) would be character creation using the lovely random career stuffs. Note that MGT2e removed the possibility of death via character creation but added the concept of Medical debt; so where in previous versions of Traveller, you might have died during a Mishap in creation, now you survived but owe a bajillion dollars to the hospital. More later...
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Post by LabRat on Mar 5, 2019 17:34:47 GMT -6
Awesome, I've always wanted to play traveller and I know WXMAN will squeal like a little schoolgirl if you decide to break this out. You have LabRat's Seal of Approval!
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Post by Rigil Kent on Mar 6, 2019 14:21:13 GMT -6
FWIW, I'm probably going to rip off something Matt Colville and create an actual pitch document regarding this to get a grasp of the kind of game I should consider. Initially, I was thinking of running in S3M since I'm mostly indifferent to the 3rd Imperium campaign setting, but at the same time, I really kind of like the "Pirates of Drinax" campaign set in the Traveller-verse (which admittedly is pretty far away from the 3rd Imperium) so ... Yeah. Expect more posting and questions when I get that part accomplished.
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Post by LabRat on Mar 6, 2019 15:14:45 GMT -6
FWIW, I'm probably going to rip off something Matt Colville and create an actual pitch document regarding this to get a grasp of the kind of game I should consider. Initially, I was thinking of running in S3M since I'm mostly indifferent to the 3rd Imperium campaign setting, but at the same time, I really kind of like the "Pirates of Drinax" campaign set in the Traveller-verse (which admittedly is pretty far away from the 3rd Imperium) so ... Yeah. Expect more posting and questions when I get that part accomplished. Sounds good. I also ripped off Matt when making my "what are we going to play" pitch before you guys decided on Fallout. He's good people with some good ideas. I'm looking forward to see what you will come up with.
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Post by WxMAN on Mar 6, 2019 21:28:24 GMT -6
What does this mean for Red Sky?
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Post by Rigil Kent on Mar 7, 2019 8:49:26 GMT -6
Remains on hiatus.
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Post by Rigil Kent on Mar 9, 2019 20:37:58 GMT -6
Ripping off the opening "crawl" from season 1, episode 1 of "The Expanse" - this is just a test to sort of get the kind of tone and feel I'm leaning toward...
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Post by CommJunkee on Mar 10, 2019 9:03:34 GMT -6
Woot!
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 11, 2019 12:36:24 GMT -6
So ... I picked up HOSTILE, which mostly uses the same Cepheus Engine that Mongoose Traveller 4e but is "grittier" than default Traveller and probably a bit closer to Giger's S3M setting. I'm thinking about using it when this comes around instead of the core Traveller stuffs...
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Post by CommJunkee on May 12, 2019 15:44:10 GMT -6
Neat!
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 20, 2019 11:43:19 GMT -6
Proposal NotesI’ve already established that I’d like to run this game in one star system with a very heavy “The Expanse” feel as opposed to the usual “let’s jump from star system to star system and discover a Planet of Adventure.” motif you often find in Traveller. Since I’m looking at using Giger’s S3M universe setting, that has led me to leaning toward utilization of the HOSTILE ruleset (which is, as far as I can tell, just a reskinned version of M2E Traveller which I was going to use anyway, so that’s fine) which is slightly grittier than default Traveller. Beyond that, though, I haven’t quite figured everything out just yet so the exact nature of the campaign is something I'd like to coordinate with the group to get an idea of what I should do. My primary question for the group is simple: what kind of game do you want to play?Obviously, a lot will be determined by the nature of the characters generated. I’m still leaning toward us rolling up the characters at the table during Session 1 but I’d like it if the players had at least a rudimentary idea of the kind of character they’d want to play. And yeah, something as simple as “Leaning toward a hideous mash-up of Amos Burton and Jayne Cobb” or “I want to play a space scientist. Who also carries a gun.” is perfectly legit. Specifics we can determine later. FREX, in the initial offering of The Verge (before it started to morph into its current incarnation), LabRat was talking about doing a mixture of her Star Wars character Tesla and Julie Mao as a piloty type from a syndicate family who rebelled. That’s a good start for character concept. Apart from characters, though, straight away, I know of some conflicts. Mark does not like dealing with a lot of logistics in his gameplay, while Nate would totally love him some Spreadsheets: The RPG, so we need to keep that in mind. So, ultimately, I have a handful of questions that each PC should answer: - What kind of tone do we want this game to have? At Meat Meet 2019, CommJunkee rambled on about ‘the betterment of mankind’ which leans toward a large “save the planet/system” kind of game which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so I want to ensure we’re all on the same wavelength. Looking at various sci-fi shows, we have a handful of tones/moods to consider: Firefly is probably the closest to default Traveller, with the crew jumping from adventure to adventure while trying to make ends meet; The Expanse is similar to that, but in a lot of ways is more ‘cyberpunk in space’ with the big Corporations doing naughty things that the government doesn’t approve of, then the govts get involved while the “runners” (the Roci crew) are caught squarely in the middle; I’d probably classify Dark Matter as squarely between Firefly & The Expanse tonally, but I’m aware not all of us have probably watched it; and then, we have Farscape, which is heavy on the WTF Just Happened?
- What about lethality level? Based on my (admittedly preliminary) scan of the M2T ruleset, combat does seem like it could be pretty deadly, so there’s that.
Feedback appreciated.
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Post by Gigermann on May 20, 2019 13:41:03 GMT -6
I think I lean toward cyberpunk-in-space. "Save the system" is fine by me.
The random characters lends itself to a higher-than-usual lethality—I'd be fine with playing with the safeties off
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 21, 2019 9:24:03 GMT -6
Just realized something I could have added: Skills Packages. In Mongoose 2E Traveller, on p49, there is a bit on skill packages (which I've attached below.) Essentially, following character generation, we do another quick round-robin using the appropriate skill package with each player taking turns picking one of the skills from the package until they're all gone. It occurs to me that the names of these packages could be a good way to determine the kind of game the group as a whole is interested in playing. These packages are split up into: Traveller; Explorer; Mercenary; Diplomat; Trader; Investigator; Starship; and Criminal. Don't focus on the actual skills just yet; just look at the description for the package. Attachments:
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Post by WxMAN on May 21, 2019 9:31:55 GMT -6
I'm quite curious on this HOSTILE ruleset as I've never looked at it - it'll be interesting if that's what you go with. Have you also looked at 2300 AD which is adapted from Traveller with a more "near future" feel? I think a "Session 0" where characters are generated (maybe even randomly!?!) is a great idea and something I would like to see done for more games in general in order to ensure the expectations of both the GM and players are all on the same page, even if that "wastes" a night of gaming. Just FYI, I don't need Spreasheets: The Game to be happy, but it is where my first, second, fourth, and final instinct drives me. If Spreadsheets: The Game does not match the feel of the planned game, then don't try and work them in (ie, gonzo action adventure setting typically would not pair well with counting bullets and canteens of water) Again, my first instinct is rock-hard sci-fi which is unlikely to be anyone's preference, but more on the Expanse side than Star Trek side is preferable. My problem with the traditional "Traveller" style is that it is a boat load of up front work for the GM as if the PC's can jump to any one of a dozen planets, etc it is hard to make interesting things going on on all of them where it won't feel shallow. So anyway, enough rambling: Tone: Expanse-ish, threading the needle between corrupt governments and power-hungry corps. Lethality: Default Traveller/HOSTILE as I'd like to see how those systems do with lethality and I cannot remember a character dying in this group throughout my playing (save by me....)
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 21, 2019 9:43:14 GMT -6
I'm quite curious on this HOSTILE ruleset as I've never looked at it - it'll be interesting if that's what you go with. You can take a glance here: HOSTILE That's the PDF of the core rulebook for it; a lot is mostly setting commentary ... which probably isn't as useful as I'd like since I'm using Giger's S3M stuffs. Principally, its for the tone and the mood, I think ... so ultimately, we may end up just using default MT2e as-is, but dial down the dumber Traveller elements. Hmm. I actually had not. It had not even actually occurred to me, so I'll take a look at it and see if that's useful.
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 21, 2019 10:13:58 GMT -6
Looking at 2300AD ... oh, my ... looks like Mongoose did a version of it using their 1E ruleset (which is pretty similar to their 2E, AFAIK) ... and it's got some very nice stuff in it straight away."Micro-G Space Adaptation DNA mod" ... that sounds like an Expanse book Belter, sa-sa? Dang. I may need to create my own player's guide with stuff pulled from all over, eh?
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Post by LabRat on May 22, 2019 11:35:17 GMT -6
I'm still open to doing my initial character concept, but I am also fine with walking in as a blank slate and figuring our a character based on what I have in terms of creation. I'm very interested in doing a "session 0" as I feel that is really unique to traveller and something I want to experience.
In terms of tone, I'm all for an Expanse/Dark Matter feel (which I HAVE seen ::shock:: ), I've been really itching for a game that has a lot of political intrigue and so I think that those genera can introduce that. In terms of scope I prefer one that is more reasonable/relatable and therefore limited. I'd rather play Daredevil and save Hell's Kitchen than the Avengers and save the world. YMMV, though I'm not particularly married to the idea, its just my preference. Finally, I'm okay with playing safety off so if things are more lethal, then so be it.
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Post by CommJunkee on May 24, 2019 10:33:19 GMT -6
I am all for tones leaning toward Expanse, Firefly, and Dark Matter. I am totally up for a safeties-off gritty game play (would fit more with the Expanse-esq tone). As for a really rough character concept, I might go with: minor-but-wanted criminal hanging out in space doing what he can/must to send money to his family. Criminal with a heart, "Just because I am a bad guy, doesn't mean I am a BAD guy."
I am all for the, 'What just happened, and why are we know involved?', and 'doing what me must, but trying not to get pulled into one side' plots too. My rough character will have such subplots, or motivations, but ultimately go with the will of the crew/troupe/gang, as they are his current shield against the authorities (known to them or not).
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 31, 2019 11:01:48 GMT -6
So ... three of the four responses have explicitly referenced "The Expanse" as in terms of tone or feel ... so the question that immediately comes to mind is "what exactly is the feel/tone of The Expanse in this context?" Is it just the trappings of hard sci-fi layered atop what amounts to a space opera? Or is it more akin to the outlier response which is "cyberpunk in space", thus indicating that all of the four are on the same wavelength (relatively speaking, anyway)? So what precisely is it about The Expanse that you want to emulate? Provide examples if possible. My current thinking (subject to change, of course) is to start with the crew already assembled aboard a ship - probably going to use the Exeter from SW since I have the deckplans although deck 3 in the original deckplan (where the passenger cabins are located) is gone ala the Chickenhawk here so the cargo bay is just twice the size as normal. In a lot of ways, it'll stand in for the Canterbury, although I'm not necessarily planning on nuking it. The ship will likely have a NPC captain (specifics TBD; dunno if male, female or what at this point), and the PCs will end up being crew in some capacity. Of course, this means I'll have to figure out Traveller ship stats ... frick. I need to find & watch a good example of M2T space combat ...
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Post by Gigermann on May 31, 2019 11:46:49 GMT -6
I think I'd define it as a handful of dudes just trying to survive being "caught up in the churn"; you could have that without a ship
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Post by Rigil Kent on May 31, 2019 22:34:59 GMT -6
Based on feedback, these are the things that I picked up: - Little fish in a big pond, caught up in the "churn"
- Neutral and trying to stay that way. (Which leads to an interesting thought that I'll expound on below.)
- Trappings of hard sci-fi
- CommJunkee and LabRat were talking about FedEx in Space, but I didn't catch any of that discussion
Regarding the Neutrality stuffs, if there are four factions and four PCs, then logically, each of you should originate from one of the factions.
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Post by CommJunkee on Jun 1, 2019 15:44:01 GMT -6
Based on feedback, these are the things that I picked up: - Little fish in a big pond, caught up in the "churn"
- Neutral and trying to stay that way. (Which leads to an interesting thought that I'll expound on below.)
- Trappings of hard sci-fi
- CommJunkee and LabRat were talking about FedEx in Space, but I didn't catch any of that discussion
Regarding the Neutrality stuffs, if there are four factions and four PCs, then logically, each of you should originate from one of the factions. I call dibs on the criminal families, LOL.
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