Back to Traveller after a very long break

[madmike]

Firstly, it is great to find a vibrant Traveller RPG community online, so I am most happy to be a new forum member

OK, I first started playing Traveller way back in 1979 when I was in high school. I did not use the official Traveller setting as it evolved, instead involving my little group of players within my own Empire of Man setting.

But the usual stuff happened, post school education, job, marriage, kids, divorce etc and no Traveller for over twenty years. I tried to keep up with the evolution in the game, but CT remained my preferred system, even though I had divested my self of most of the books over that time.

Still played RPG's with the remaining "group of geeks", usually MERP, Rolemaster and over the last five years Runequest 2e, D&D and T&T. Even my wife is a member of our little group, sadly numbering only six now.

Our Runequest DM, is keen for a break and well, why not? Time for some Traveller!

To re-familiarise myself with the rules and for Lori to get used to the rules herself, she rolled up a Merchant character using LBB7. Mustering out as a Chief Medical Officer. A useful character Terran born Imperial, merchant family brat, hates the separatists....

I am formulating stuff now for a Solomani Rim locale but cannot for the life of me find a good adventure that provides a good story, some combat (these geeks are used to dungeon crawls, remember!) and is relatively short so to give the group a great reminder taste of CT before beginning something longer.

Can anyone provide some suggestions for me please?

 

[aramis]

You can start them off with a good "Traveller Dungeon Crawl"... Shadows. (It's in The Traveller Book and Starter Traveller, if you have either of those - if not, you can buy the PDF of either at rpg.drivethrustuff.com for under $10... Starter is $6 in PDF. Or buy the CD of CT for $35 from FFE.

Another good one for the D&D crowd is Horde (Double adventure something...). It's a bug-hunt... but a bug hunt that can be quite fun.

Of course, Prison Planet's not a good first adventure, but if they blow another one badly, PP can be quite good for resurrecting the campaign.

My personal favorite, tho', is Adv 3: Twilight's Peak.

 

[mike wightman]

The adventure i use nine times out of ten to start a new group off is Death Station. You can tailor the threat to something you want the players to face - mad robots, a loose alien, genetically modified scientists, cyborg assassins - take your pick.

 

[Burocrate]

Solomani tied adventures

I would consider any of the old CT adventures, Signal GK comes to mind as well as the one adventure where the PCs are on a high law level world and someone from the opposition uses a PGMP to burn down an informant in front of the PCs. This story featured the "Solomani Hypothisis" as an element of the plot if I remember correctly.

 

[madmike]

Thanks everyone. I will see if I actually have these in my remaining collection.

 

[Max_Writer]

As has been noted above Far Future Enterprises has all of the old books reprinted (and on CD). Don't know if you want to spend much but it's a great way to fill out the Traveller collection.

 

[Mithras]

I would consider any of the old CT adventures, Signal GK comes to mind as well as the one adventure where the PCs are on a high law level world and someone from the opposition uses a PGMP to burn down an informant in front of the PCs. This story featured the "Solomani Hypothisis" as an element of the plot if I remember correctly.

Argon Gambit. A great adventure featuring research and burglary!

 

[madmike]

As has been noted above Far Future Enterprises has all of the old books reprinted (and on CD). Don't know if you want to spend much but it's a great way to fill out the Traveller collection.

The local gaming shop has some of the FFE reprints amidst GURPS and Mongoose. I also checked out FFE's website. Some great stuff to be had, but postage costs to Australia for printed materials are ridiculously high. The PDF CD's look a better bet.

I found a heap of old White Dwarf's last night including issue 28, which has hit locate tables. Big bonus was a lot of old notes, scenario and campaign info, house rules et al. Done when I was 17-20, it is like a time capsule from the past.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Welcome back!

 

[Burocrate]

Good ole transition adventures

Argon Gambit. A great adventure featuring research and burglary!

Thank you! I was unable to check a bibliography or google-fu the info. Lots of Travellers cut thier teeth on these old CT adventures; great fun and many fond memories. Back when I first ran my high school buddies through this one the PC armed with a Foil nearly soiled himself at the description of a fusion gun being fired within the Startown.

 

[madmike]

Death Station sounds very promising. I read a review online, now just need to buy a copy of the scenario.

I do intend to make it a bit more complex though.

 

[robject]

If you can find one of the 4 old Best of JTAS, you'll have a handful of scenarios that you can develop in whatever direction you like, plus a scad of other useful articles...

 

[madmike]

I could cry. I had all the JG/JTAS/FASA stuff up until around 2001

 

[robject]

I could cry. I had all the JG/JTAS/FASA stuff up until around 2001

Not to fear: if you have a birthday coming up, ask for one of the JTAS or FASA CDs... on the other hand, I think copies of Best of JTAS are out there and reasonably priced.

For example, Crazy Egor's has a reasonable amount of stuff.

http://stores.ebay.com/Crazy-Egors/...tml?_fsub=3&_sid=986075&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

Having said that, it still depends on what you want. And of course there is the Australia issue.

If you find yourself wanting, say, 5 old classic Traveller adventures, you're better off buying the CD...

 

[Max_Writer]

There are also several fanzines that are now available for free online:

Third Imperium fanzine had several scenarios and lots of deck plans:

http://www.travellermap.com/thirdimperium/

Security Leak Magazine also had some interesting stuff:

http://www.securityleak.com/

Into the Deep Magazine is here:

http://sites.google.com/site/reaversdeep/file-cabinet

Stellar Reaches Magazine here:

http://stellarreaches.nwgamers.org/issues/

 

[madmike]

Cheers!

Will check those links out, plus the eBay seller. Looks like some purchasing is to be had!

 

[FreeTrav]

I'll also toot my own horn and point you at Freelance Traveller:

http://www.freelancetraveller.com

... both a free monthly PDF magazine and a website with stuff that's older than the magazine-mode. Check the section called "Active Measures" and its subsection "Getting Off The Ground" for adventures that may or may not suit your needs...

 

[Travellerspud]

Death Station sounds very promising. I read a review online, now just need to buy a copy of the scenario.

I do intend to make it a bit more complex though.

Last time I did this, I had the Navigator (in a semi-lucid phase) fire on the ship's boat during the approach, holing it and taking out the radio. The PC's were in suits already, but this meant the ship was no longer streamlined and could not re-enter atmosphere. The boat on the station was missing (crashed on nearby moon with dead Engineer), and of course the radios on the station (actually, all of the controls) no longer worked. Further, an explosive decompression (set off when the PC's boarded) sends the Lab Ship on a slowly decaying orbit...with ~4 hours until burn up.

(luckily, the Lab Station had Re-Entry kits for vacc suits, and 4 grav belts as part of an experiment testing new combat drugs on pilot reflexes)

 

[madmike]

More good stuff, thanks.

Getting back into Traveller again is like coming back home with a nice warm fire burning. It feels good.

 

[Khan Trav]

Has anyone here been the referee or a player in the traveller adventure? I have it and have read it and I really enjoyed the story line. If you have, can you sum up your experience?

I think it is a great start up if you have a face to face group. Like many others here I have not had that kind of game in a long time. I am currently running several players on a CT play by email game and I have to say I probably look forward to their moves more than they do mine. I really love this game.