A Solo Campaign in the Spinward 'Neutral Zone'

[Mithras]

I'm planning on a solo game for Classic Traveller, and I was thinking of going for a Firefly 'feeling'. What I had in mind was setting it right after the unpopular Third Frontier War, the war so badly run that lots of naval staff were forced to resign, even the emperor (Styryx) abdicated. I could set it in that bit of space between the Zhodani and Imperium I call the 'Neutral Zone' that runs through Vilis and Jewell - backwater worlds, dead-end locations - adventure opportunities!



I envisage many military veterans (like the PCs) travelling here to get away from the stigma of the war and make a fortune for themselves. There should be lots of Zhodani/IMperial covert plots occurring in this region, too. I think I'll run a husband/wife couple as the PC heroes, maybe detached scouts in a Scout/Courier, or a couple of ex-Naval officers in a Far Trader (see below).

I envisage a couple of tweaks though. Since I've never understood or liked the way Zhodani nobles can perform all those random mind tricks, I'm sticking with Telepathy only, and make it touch only. I know how Vulcans do it and I'll just go with that. I just chuck out Clairvoyance, Teleportation and Telekinesis. Second tweak: Arden is a matriarchy of noble women, with extreme laws and hunger for interstellar recognition. Also: my ship of choice will be 'Traders & Gunboats' 200 ton Far Trader, standing in for the Serenity, but I note the deckplan suggests it needs a 400 ton writeup.... that size, plus the front-loading ramp, plus the Jump-2 drive, make it a decent ex-military transport.

I've created 3 subplots for the solo campaign to hang smaller plots (that crop up in play) on:

1- A high ranking officer has fled to the Neutral Zone and established a criminal organization, based on the loyalties of more junior ranks who have fled here also.
2- EXpedition to Zhodane. Reverse it. Professor Ricket is suspected by the Office of Naval Intelligence of being brainwashed by the Zhodani, as a spy, so when he returns to EXtolay for supplies, they arrest him, and his daughter jumps away in Rock, to be found as a plot point by me later in the game!
3- The Arden Matriarchy as mentioned, tough interstellar merchant princesses, all eager to outdo each other, and play the Zhodani against the Imperium, and each Neutral planet against its neighbour. Suggestions that desperate Arden merchant-women have stepped over the line into opportunistic piracy, are denied by the government...

Any suggestions on this one? I'm not going to try to 'clone' Firefly, just try to recreate the 'set-up situation'.

I'm using SOLO for Cepheus Engine for the game play: https://www.paulelliottbooks.com/solo.html

 

[Timerover51]

It sounds interesting Paul, and welcome back to the Forum. We have not seen you in a while. At least, I have not.

 

[Mithras]

It sounds interesting Paul, and welcome back to the Forum. We have not seen you in a while. At least, I have not.

Thank you! I've been madly writing, first history books for Fonthill Media and then various Traveller-inspired material. I come here to play, and I have some time at last to play the best game in town. I've ordered a new hardback copy of The Traveller Book to replace my beat up, 30 year old paperback copy.

 

[Mithras]

Paul Elliott After sleeping on it, I've now got the Pull: The PC couple are relaxing in their hotel room on Ruie, after being mustered out a few months ago. Their squadron was disbanded by the new Sector Duke and blamed for a famous defeat. The door bursts open and two guys with guns force them to attend a meeting with their boss, its a meeting you can't refuse. This shady boss offers them a job 'in the service of the imperium' to go into the Neutral Zone, and find the identity and location of a notorious naval vice admiral who has fled there to avoid courtmartial. He has set himself up as some sort of gang lord and pirate king. He is a loose cannon. Infiltrate his organisation if possible. Report to our agent on Arden. If you terminate him, your reward will be increased.

The guy offers them a ship as transport, an armed ex-military Far Trader used for field resupply. Unfortunately they dont have it yet, its one of 20 sold to a holding company awaiting demilitarization and sale by auction. Your first task is to get to Jenghe and steal one of those Far Traders, once it is brought to Ruie 'we' will provide new documents, registrations and transponder codes. You get to keep the far trader after you report to Arden, or kill the vice admiral. Use the trader as a cover, buy and sell, and listen out for rumors or links to this traiterous admiral and his syndicate. If they kill him? Add 200,000 credits to that reward.

Paul Elliott The vice admiral is Kurtz from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, his gang is exnaval crew who were blamed, hounded out, dishonorably discharged from the sector navy. But is he a pirate king? And is the boss and his goons working for Imperial intelligence? The navy? Or something else entirely different? I may make up a random table to surprise myself when the PCs meet 'Kurtz' and also when they present themselves to the friendly agent on Arden: in typical 76 Patrons style.
Manage

 

[flykiller]

But is he a pirate king? And is the boss and his goons working for Imperial intelligence? The navy? Or something else entirely different?

are his methods ... unsound?

will the PC couple ever get out of the boat?

 

[Mithras]

are his methods ... unsound?

will the PC couple ever get out of the boat?

Ha ha!

"Never get off the (ship's) boat...."

Of course his methods are ... uncomfortable pause... unsound, his command needs to be terminated "with extreme prejudice"

I can hear the character who is the wife saying, "can't we just do a bit of mining instead?"

 

[flykiller]

"This is dialectics. It's very simple dialectics: one through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without like, you know, with fractions! What are you going to land on: one quarter, three eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics, okay?"

no fractional drives. that's dialectic physics.

that could be the name of the pc couple's boat. "dialectic physics".

 

[Mithras]

"This is dialectics. It's very simple dialectics: one through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without like, you know, with fractions! What are you going to land on: one quarter, three eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics, okay?"

no fractional drives. that's dialectic physics.

that could be the name of the pc couple's boat. "dialectic physics".

Awesome Flykiller, awesome!

 

[Diveguy]

Paul Elliott After sleeping on it, I've now got the Pull: The PC couple are relaxing in their hotel room on Ruie, after being mustered out a few months ago. Their squadron was disbanded by the new Sector Duke and blamed for a famous defeat. The door bursts open and two guys with guns force them to attend a meeting with their boss, its a meeting you can't refuse. This shady boss offers them a job 'in the service of the imperium' to go into the Neutral Zone, and find the identity and location of a notorious naval vice admiral who has fled there to avoid courtmartial. He has set himself up as some sort of gang lord and pirate king. He is a loose cannon. Infiltrate his organisation if possible. Report to our agent on Arden. If you terminate him, your reward will be increased.

The guy offers them a ship as transport, an armed ex-military Far Trader used for field resupply. Unfortunately they dont have it yet, its one of 20 sold to a holding company awaiting demilitarization and sale by auction. Your first task is to get to Jenghe and steal one of those Far Traders, once it is brought to Ruie 'we' will provide new documents, registrations and transponder codes. You get to keep the far trader after you report to Arden, or kill the vice admiral. Use the trader as a cover, buy and sell, and listen out for rumors or links to this traiterous admiral and his syndicate. If they kill him? Add 200,000 credits to that reward.

Paul Elliott The vice admiral is Kurtz from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, his gang is exnaval crew who were blamed, hounded out, dishonorably discharged from the sector navy. But is he a pirate king? And is the boss and his goons working for Imperial intelligence? The navy? Or something else entirely different? I may make up a random table to surprise myself when the PCs meet 'Kurtz' and also when they present themselves to the friendly agent on Arden: in typical 76 Patrons style.
Manage

Really liked this one. For some reason, it gave me food for thought- maybe someone can play from this.... 76 Patrons riff:

1 - Kurtz is what they're told, an Admiral who went rogue and is bound and determined to set up his own pocket empire, whatever the cost.

2 - Kurtz is working deep intel undercover. If the players thwart him, they're risking upsetting a long-term scheme. If they give him free reign will it destabilize things more?

3 - There is no Kurtz. The PC's sources are being mislead, or working off bad information.

4 - Poor Kurtz. What the Imperium takes as a master plot is really a broken, old man with delusions of granduer, spreading rumors and stories to relive the days he was important.

5 - Kurtz the boogeyman. Vice Admiral Kurtz died during the jump event, his frozen corpse among hundreds of others on a derilict starship. But, his name still works to invoke fear, or cast blame. Pirate raid? Obviously Kurtz. Coup attempt? Kurtz is everywhere. Petty criminal escapes? Must be one of Kurtz's men. Lots to play with here on options.

6 - Kurtz with a Zho.... - All along he was a double, with another plan in mind.

 

[Mithras]

Wow. Yes, that's what I would have done... is number 6- 'Kurtz is a Zhondani agent'?

There may be another for Arden (I'm going to run it as a matriarchy, for colour):

1-Arden is sponsoring piracy amongst its own armed merchant fleet, it is a cut-throat world out there.

2-Arden has been infliltrated by the Zhodani, and is stirring up antiImperial sentiment amongst the Neutral Zone worlds.

3-Arden has gained control of several Neutral Zone worlds and using this commercial empire to push out other commercial interests.

4-Arden is recruiting numbers of disillusioned Imperial veterans as mercenaries to extend its power and reach to various Neutral Worlds, these private armies support pro-Arden parties and corporations across the region.

5- ?

6- ?

The trick is to tie these story reveals to a set trigger (such as being hired by an Arden patron, or being attacked by an Arden pirate).

 

[Diveguy]

Yes, I was playing off the Z in the name and hinting at Zhodani influence.
Just as an idea.

Wow. Yes, that's what I would have done... is number 6- 'Kurtz is a Zhondani agent'?

There may be another for Arden (I'm going to run it as a matriarchy, for colour):

1-Arden is sponsoring piracy amongst its own armed merchant fleet, it is a cut-throat world out there.

2-Arden has been infliltrated by the Zhodani, and is stirring up antiImperial sentiment amongst the Neutral Zone worlds.

3-Arden has gained control of several Neutral Zone worlds and using this commercial empire to push out other commercial interests.

4-Arden is recruiting numbers of disillusioned Imperial veterans as mercenaries to extend its power and reach to various Neutral Worlds, these private armies support pro-Arden parties and corporations across the region.

5- ?

6- ?

The trick is to tie these story reveals to a set trigger (such as being hired by an Arden patron, or being attacked by an Arden pirate).

 

[BlindGuy]

Getting Started?

Hi All,

I'm going through one of my periodic sci-fi book-reading binges, and this has brought Traveller to mind. This campaign has been in the back of my brain for a few days, but I'm struggling with how to start, even if it's just solo. I'd appreciate some perspective.

I seem to suffer from difficulty thinking creatively. My initial "plan," for stealing the far trader from Jengh is basically, "buy middle passage for the two navy characters provided using that fairly big starting balance," and possibly, "use a computer terminal somewhere to do some digging and find out information about the company holding them." That latter bit will probably have to wait until they get to Jengh itself.

I feel kind of constrained by the "plan," solo mechanics as well as the equipment listed in the CT LBBs. Little of that actually seems to be applicable to stealing a starship, except perhaps personal armor and an electronics kit.

I feel like I'm looking at this the wrong way, or being too rigid in my interpretations. If this were a campaign being run by a GM, I could ask questions or maybe just riff on things other players proposed. I've never actually played Traveller in a group, despite hopes to.

Any help working through this little mental block would be greatly appreciated.

 

[flykiller]

I'd appreciate some perspective.

if your goal is simply to get someplace, you don't have to steal the boat. you can rent it, or "trade" with some obscure location and get the merchant captain to transport your cargo to that location, or you can get to the general area and rent a gig, or call in a favor with an old buddy who's still in the service and get him to provide you with a gig, or persuade the ship owner or gig owner that there's something in all this for them if they help you. or deal with a prospector, there's always prospectors in any system who might be persuaded to go almost anywhere if there's some chance of digging up something.

 

[BlindGuy]

if your goal is simply to get someplace, you don't have to steal the boat. you can rent it, or "trade" with some obscure location and get the merchant captain to transport your cargo to that location, or you can get to the general area and rent a gig, or call in a favor with an old buddy who's still in the service and get him to provide you with a gig, or persuade the ship owner or gig owner that there's something in all this for them if they help you. or deal with a prospector, there's always prospectors in any system who might be persuaded to go almost anywhere if there's some chance of digging up something.

This particular campaign pre-supposes the first bit is definitely "stealing," or obtaining a particular starship from a world, which happens to be different from the one the PCs start on. See here.

 

[AsenRG]

Nice to see you on this forum as well, Mithras!
I like (and own) your Solo, too. It's nice to finally see it in action!

 

[Orr]

Any suggestions on this one?

Your "neutral zone" was Imperial territory before the 3rd Frontier War in 979. It only becomes "neutral" after the war in 986. That entire jump1 "main" between Stave and Tionale was Imperial as were Quar and Gougeste. There are various boundary changes along the edges too with the Consulate picking up a handful of systems. Look at the dot maps in The Spinward Marches Campaign.

Having that many worlds told they're now independent should create lots of adventure opportunities, right? Nobles who no longer have fiefs, new planetary governments trying to establish themselves, merchants wanting to set up trade contacts and monopolies, and the Consulate watching everything to ensure the Imperium is really ceding control and not just setting up deniable puppets.

Arden could be making trouble for it's neighbors, it could be just trying to put it's own house in order, or it could be doing both. Look at central Asia after the fall of the USSR or Africa during the decolonization process for "geopolitical" ideas which could translate into adventure opportunities.

 

[Mithras]

Or, I didnt know that about this period of space, I have that book but didn't think such information would be in there, your ideas are fabulous.


Blindguy (please post a name!) I have started the campaign, but stopped while a print copy of Into The Neutral Zone arrives (my own LBB!). We were contacted by the shady boss and later agreed to the job. We booked passage to Jenghe, but the port has been shut down at Roup for a few days, damn. Terrorist activity on Roup again! So we planned. We checked computer databases on the holding company, we looked at photo imagery of the pads, we researched the company (Stellar Leasing) and began doing the rounds, talking to spacers and crews fresh from Jenghe. Had they seen the Type As? Were they well protected? Then we managed to roll for a friendly ex-naval trader who had a type A locked down at the port and got a complete tour and look at the cockpit and controls, leatning all about fast getaway procedures. I considered stealing his codes for the airlocks, but I thought I would wait until Jenghe to push my luck with the law!!

The week was almost up, we decided we had three options. Assault, stealth or schmooze... Sneaking in to steal the ship has problems. What if its got no fuel?

So after thinking all about this in the bath, I decided to send off a message to Jenghe showing interest in one of the ships and wanting to test fly out to 100 diameters and back . oh yeah, I told them exactly which type A i had in mind, so that I could identify which ship I should steal with fuel and ready to go!! It was too late to get a reply, but when the port opened our deferred tickets got us on a Type M liner to Jenghe. Wine, fine dining and date nights every night .. we had with us kit for breaking and entering we had bought on Roup, bolt cutters, plasma torch, hoods, smoke grenades, knife, medkit, radios, LI goggles and a few handcuffs and gags. Unfortunately, for a jump event I rolled a passenger died mysteriously in transit. The captain conducted an investigation and baggage was searched, and eyebrows raised at our kit, Camille with her knighthood went on the offensive and said we were being hired on Jenghe as mining rig salvors. The handcuffs and gags? Well, they're for entertainment during the jump! :0 What a wife!

Thats it for me. I dont know what to do about IDs , I guessed we used false names, but we haven't got false IDs, so we will have to be very careful not to get caught. I am very nervous about rolling the Plan... I don't want us to end up in jail or wose in week 2!

I think we will case out the place before our supposed test flight, maybe break in through the perimeter and steal uniforms from any guards. And get onto the ship and take off. But the access codes ... not sure how we get those. Maybe target the office the night before?

Once I decide, I will set the Plan at Safe (its not a combat mission), but not sure about the difficulty yet.

So .... how will you do it? ! My plan has big flaws, but I can't think of a better way at the moment....

 

[BlindGuy]

Mithras, thanks so much for the info. This is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for, and definitely helps jump starting my imagination.

I guess where I'm running into some confusion is where the Solo mechanics interact with the CT rules. Did you make a solo-style plan from the start, or did you flesh it out with encounters and complications first?

I imagine there's no wrong way to play, and I just have to try my hand at it sometime. I tend to worry over trivial details.

As a final question, when doing things like buying equipment, do you do that as a part of your Plan and account for the credits spent afterwards? I guess I'm just trying to get a feel for the mechanical flow of the system.

Thanks again,
Zack.

 

[Mithras]

Hi Zack, when I say Plan, I mean the roll I make in SOLO to adjudicate the break in, and theft. Anything else including buying equipment, trying to talk to naval veterans, fast talking our way around that dodgy equipment in our baggage, I use standard Traveller rules for.

The only thing SOLO's Plan really replaces is combat rolls, they are subsumed under the Plan. And if it is Dangerous you accept any wounded or killed results. If safe you ignore any wounded or killed results (that explicit rule may have been left out of early versions of SOLO).

I mix things up, rolling on a SOLO table here, using Traveller reaction rolls or cargo type rolls somewhere else, I try not to use the Plan mechanic unless a complicated scene with several crucial tasks is being undertaken. I like playing Traveller, SOLO adds extra stuff in when I need motivation or plot ideas to go along with the story at hand...

My print copy of the adventure should be here tomorrow and then I'll try the theft... and let you know if we get killed, get incarcerated or get away with it!

 

[BlindGuy]

Thanks! That helps… I got the mistaken impression that the plan was meant to subsume *all* the other rolls and so forth in a session. I think I got confused by the “fortune in the middle,” discussion.