The Long Night

[rancke]

I see them as GM would see them...

If they don't fit on this side, then use them on that side...of an adventure of course.

I don't need to read books about people I don't care for in order to get GM material. I don't read books in order to get GM material, for that matter; that's just a side bonus.

I rarely read to fill some sense of fair play or "God, we're short on heroes I need one to make me feel good." That's more the style of comic-books. Blatant. Obvious.

Is this going anywhere? I read books to be entertained. Reading about unpleasant people can be entertaining, but it requires more skill on the part of the author. Most, frankly, are not up to it. I've deliberately tried to avoid using the word 'hero' to describe the viewpoint characters of whichever books I've mentioned. It's not about heroes or villians, it's about becoming interested in their fate. Or, in the case of Star Risk, losing interest in their fate.

Again, I'm wondering about what point you're trying to make.

Kirth Gersen (whatever) started out as a decent read, but overall it's tough to make a single-point of adventure into a Traveller game where multiple characters exist.

At the risk of being burnt at the stake by rabid fans, there is more to life than Traveller games. I don't read books just to get inspiration for Traveller games (I'm sure you don't either, but that's the inference one might well draw from what you just wrote). I don't think I'd ever run a game inspired by the Demon Princes books. That doesn't really change anything one way or the other about how good a read they are or how sympathetic the main character is.

Though the basic premise of the books could easily be turned into a campaign... Let's see... the PCs are all from the same small town. They've all been away pursuing their separate careers in the Army, Navy, Scouts, Merchants, whatever. One day they receive word that their town has been attacked by unknown pirates. They all make their way back to the town and meet in the ruins. Everybody and everything they knew and loved from their youth is gone, destroyed. There in the ruins they swear to stick together while they track down and punish the men responsible.

Traveller is more of a "team effort" than following one man's road. I think by the time you did, it'd look less like the original and lose it's appeal. I might be wrong though. I'm not a Jack Vance expert, and those have been around for ages.

You want any campaign based on a wellknown book to look a little like the original as possible (unless you actully want to attract players by associations to the book). As for appeal, that's for the GM to provide.


Hans

 

[Gadrin]

Is this going anywhere? I read books to be entertained. Reading about unpleasant people can be entertaining, but it requires more skill on the part of the author. Most, frankly, are not up to it. I've deliberately tried to avoid using the word 'hero' to describe the viewpoint characters of whichever books I've mentioned. It's not about heroes or villians, it's about becoming interested in their fate. Or, in the case of Star Risk, losing interest in their fate.

Again, I'm wondering about what point you're trying to make.

Actually, that's pretty close to what I'm looking for when I read a book, "Is this going to be interesting enough to make me care?" I guess I didn't say it plainly enough.

I've got 3 or 4 Sten books, but haven't been able to get thru any of them yet, after reading a review by Steve Jackson. I was able to read 3 or 4 of the Star Risk books though. Strange. I got about 3/4ths thru Dog of Hell before I stopped and never went back. I think something else came up.

But I agree with the "most aren't up to it" offering. I've read too many books that just plain ol don't interest me and few that started out good, then peetered out.

I almost always try to draw parallels between sci-fi and Traveller, just out of habit.

As for some point, I was just curious originally. Seeing what comes out of a few questions.

Sorry to have made you type 2 extra responses for nothing.

>

 

[rancke]

As for some point, I was just curious originally. Seeing what comes out of a few questions.

Sorry to have made you type 2 extra responses for nothing.

Not a problem. Sometimes just jawing is pleasant. And I did get an idea for a campaign .


Hans

 

[davebill]

rancke ... do you have any suggestions if I were to set my pocket cluster off the main stage of the 3I? I'd need a nice direct route from original Terran colonisation, a sector-sized 'empire' derived from an early colonisation effort that was never absorbed by the 3I.

I'm not Rancke, but I would suggest rimward of the Solomani Sphere. Go out a sector or so and then draw your map. Nothing canonical in that area, as I recall, direct line back to Terra, no 3I.

I seem to recall a website about the Zhodani Core expeditions which had a link or subpage about a Solomani Rim expedition, but I can't recall the URL, sorry.

 

[Mithras]

Hah, found just what I was looking for around Aldebaran sector - the Hyades star cluster is probably at the rimward end of that sector, too, which is a nice bonus! Now I have location and a named star cluster.

Good call

 

[Sturn]

Are you talking about the end of the Second Empire or the Rebellion/Virus scenario?

My inclination would be the former. Jump-2 was the max then, wasn't it? So an uncrossable gulf is easier to find or create.

2nd Imperium/RoM had obtained TL12 and Jump-3 before the Long Night fell.

I think it would be hard to find a pocket of stars surrounded by a rift J-3 can't cross unless you place them actually inside one of the rifts.

In the Reft Sector there are two subsectors adj. to each other (New Islands and Old Islands) that have about 25 stars. This is a J-2/J-3 cluster, you need TL-12 to be able to trade within the cluster itself. However, they are completely secluded from the outside without some means such as a way station to get to them.

I don't know the history of the Islands in the Reft Sector. I do know they are highly populated by the time of the base Traveller 3rd Imp. campaign. If they were explored and settled during the RoM using a way station then it would be an excellent place. When the Long Night came any way station to the outside world could have easily, suddenly stopped existing for many reasons, leaving the Islands wondering what happened with no way to contact the greater, outside world. One or two worlds would still have TL-12 and J-3 tech in the cluster, keeping the worlds themselves in contact with no way out or in.

Actually, if they weren't settled until the 3rd Imperium, and the Islands had TL15, you still couldn't get out of the Islands without a way station since J-6 is still not enough. You could then place your campaign during the Virus era, with the connecting way station(s) also suddenly being put out of commission. You could thus have a TL15 campaign with the same isolationism.