Best published adventures?

[TahaCelestin]

Hi, I haven't had much luck with Search function.

I just picked up Classic Traveller reprints; I have several GURPS Traveller books and recently got into the FATE science fiction games, Starblazer Adventures (space opera) and Diaspora (hard SF).

I would love some recommendations for published adventure modules. For some games, these are often easy to come by on Amazon and such, and there are the reprints too, of course.

Title of the adventure?
Publisher?
What's great about it, or what's a fond memory you have playing or refereeing it?

 

[Madarin Dude]

The traveller adventure is one I ref'd before was pretty good. Only published one I did that too. Liked what I saw in Leviathan too but mostly the ship.

 

[TahaCelestin]

The Traveller Adventure looks like a whole published campaign. Nice!

I wish I'd been gaming in the early 80s, when Traveller was everywhere among gamers. When I started to roleplay in the early 90s, it was never on the shelves and seldom mentioned in magazines like Dragon or Pyramid, and no one I knew had played it.

 

[Supplement Four]

Get Cold Dark Grave, published by BITS. I think its the epitome of a Classic Traveller adventure.

 

[aramis]

The Traveller Adventure looks like a whole published campaign. Nice!

That's because it is.

I wish I'd been gaming in the early 80s, when Traveller was everywhere among gamers. When I started to roleplay in the early 90s, it was never on the shelves and seldom mentioned in magazines like Dragon or Pyramid, and no one I knew had played it.

Funny, but Traveller was never "everywhere"... in Alaska, it flared into prominence with TNE in the mid 90's... in the 80's, most hadn't heard of it. Unless they played it.

Traveller, like most 2nd tier non-licensed games (Palladium FRPG, RuneQuest, T&T), was well respected, but not really well known in the D&D crowd... since the vast majority had no idea non-TSR rpg's existed.

 

[FreeTrav]

There are several adventures that I've liked, but recommendation really depends on what TYPE of adventure you are interested in - a scientific exploration adventure is not a good thing to recommend if what you really want is military hakkenslash. Or vice-versa.

 

[Ishmael]

Don't forget the Sky Raiders Trilogy

The Legend of the Sky Raiders
The Trail of the Sky Raiders
The Fate of the Sky Raiders

 

[TahaCelestin]

Funny, but Traveller was never "everywhere"... in Alaska, it flared into prominence with TNE in the mid 90's... in the 80's, most hadn't heard of it. Unless they played it.

Traveller, like most 2nd tier non-licensed games (Palladium FRPG, RuneQuest, T&T), was well respected, but not really well known in the D&D crowd... since the vast majority had no idea non-TSR rpg's existed.

Interesting; in a lot of articles on the history of roleplaying, Traveller is presented as the #2 game in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, at least.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Interesting; in a lot of articles on the history of roleplaying, Traveller is presented as the #2 game in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, at least.

Certainly top 5 - Traveller, RQ, and CoC fought for #2.

 

[aramis]

Interesting; in a lot of articles on the history of roleplaying, Traveller is presented as the #2 game in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, at least.

Let me put it another way... I started RPGing in 1981. Traveller was nowhere to be found, but D&D was in Longs Drugstore. As were DQ and several other 3rd tier games. Plus RQ (a 2nd tier game).

A few years later, and I was into Traveller (fall '83) - two stores in Anchorage carried Traveller.

Circa 85 -
Book cache carried TFT, and the full range of SPI and Metagaming microgames.
Longs carried DQ, RQ, D&D, Star Frontiers, 007, MSPE, and Top Secret.
Game Keeper had the full AD&D lineup... plus the full GDW lineup. Plus Palladium's lineup. And Space Opera, 007, and MSH.
Spenard Hobby had literally 30 cubic feet of RPG stuff... including FGU's full lineup.
Eagle River Hobbycraft carried Traveller and D&D; Dimond Hobbycraft carried full TSR and GW. Other anchorage locations carried only D&D.
Bosco's Comics carried only used games. I got into BRP that way, with a used copy of ElfQuest.

Of the lot, only Book Cache, Boscos and Dimond Center Hobbycraft are still in business. Book Cache carries no games, hasn't since the 90's. Boscos migrated into new games in 86... and being a block from Spenard Hobby, ran them out of business by a nickel a copy...

Further, B Dalton, JC Penny's, and Waldenbooks carried D&D. As did the Ft. Rich and EDF PX's...

I've met many a gamer who never heard of Traveller until they saw/heard of it from me. Often, they came in with D&D, and went the palladium route. Or later on, came in via WWG.

Traveller became 3rd tier sometime around 1991... not by losing ground, but because the first tier was so wide in the markets, and a second tier not tied to game stores arose: WWG's VTM avoided many game stores. Palladium started selling to the book trade. GDW put the wrong products into the book trade...

RQ/BRP, T&T, Traveller, and WFRP all became 3rd tier... becuase a new tier opened up between D&D and them. Palladium made the leap... popular licenses (Robotech, TMNT) and innovative setting materials, and a simple system. (I don't like it, but it's playable.)

 

[hdan]

Right - and many people to this day say things like, "Traveller? Isn't that the 'D&D in space' game? I heard most characters die during creation or something like that...."

 

[Appelcline]

The RPGnet Game Index ranks these top 5:

#1: TA11: Murder on Arcturus Station (5.92)
#2: The Traveller Adventure (5.82)
#3: Tarsus: World Beyond the Frontier (5.66)
#4: TA9: Nomads of the World Ocean (5.65)
#5: The Legend of the Sky Raiders (5.61)

Nothing else from any other version of the game makes the top listings, I think due to insufficient input.

This list generally matches my assumptions about the best CT adventures, with the exception of TA9, which I've never heard anything notable about.

 

[YunusWesley]

Next time around for gaming purchases (I try to keep these things no more often than monthly) I may get the FFE CD with all the adventures listed, and perhaps later the FASA adventures. Funny, some of my very first gaming purchases, in 91 or so, were FASA Star Trek and BattleTech books and miniatures, a company i later learned had been founded to publish Traveller supplements.

 

[Darkhstarr]

Twilight's Peak
Shadows
Secret of the Ancients
Tarsus (my first long running Traveller campaign started here)
The Sky Raiders Trilogy

 

[Vargas]

Secret of the Ancients

I'm not arguing the choice, but how many people have actually played this as opposed to just reading it?

 

[aramis]

I'm not arguing the choice, but how many people have actually played this as opposed to just reading it?

Several times over the last 20 years... 3 or 4. 3 more groups wouldn't bite.

 

[Vargas]

Several times over the last 20 years... 3 or 4. 3 more groups wouldn't bite.

Cool, I've never met anyone who actually played it. How did those sessions turn out?

 

[aramis]

Cool, I've never met anyone who actually played it. How did those sessions turn out?

Group 1: got to the GG, and fled. game ended as they left the gate. Presented petition for "It never happened; it was a shared psionic hallucination."
Group 2: found GF, and killed him.
Group 3: found the zoo, and fled. Sold "secret" to INI. then fled the 3I after escaping INI custody. Last seen in darrian space, headed spinward. Was during MGT PT.

 

[E.D.Quibell]

Group 2: found GF, and killed him.

Killed Grandfather? How did they manage to do that? (or is GF something else?)

Regards,

Ewan

 

[aramis]

Killed Grandfather? How did they manage to do that? (or is GF something else?)

Regards,

Ewan

Spoiler:

SOTA has them in GF's pocket universe. They had the disintegrator, and a droyne sport in the party. They call. He comes. They zap. His head ceases to exist.