Blue Planet and Traveller

[Supplement Four]

Just curious what people thought of Blue Planet. I've seen it. I've flipped through it. I've left it on the store shelf even though I think I like what I saw.

It's out of print now, yes?

I've been thinking about picking it up but wanted to solicit opinions about it first. If I bought it, I'd use it (convert it) for Classic Traveller--for a Traveller game focused on a single world.

I've thought about basing a Traveller campaign around Blue Planet where all of the PCs are either native to the world or somehow intimately connected with it. Then, the campaign would involve several adventures on the world itself (without travelling), only sometimes venturing to other worlds in the same subsector.

I thought it might be a neat campaign idea for some non-standard Traveller career classes--the types players don't pick that often. Scientists. Barbarian. Bureaucrat. Diplomat. Other. Characters of that sort.

Maybe even not allow Scouts and military types as PC career choices--a campaign that follows non-Travellers in a scifi setting being caught up in the events of their world.

So...if you have Blue Planet and any of that game's supplements, I'm interesting in hearing your thoughts on it.

-S4

 

[Blue Ghost]

I bought it out of curiosity a few years back, and read through much of it.

*shrug*

You're essentially stuck on a water world with sporadic archipelagos scattered throughout. Native water species intermingle with transplanted Earth species; trained Orcas, Dolphins, various bathospheres, subs and so forth.

It's pretty much a Traveller game, save the mechanics (which aren't in the Moderator's guide, the book I have) are different. I'm thinking tech level 8 to 10, with some minor tweaks here and there. If you're interested in running it like a Trav game I'd reccomend buying the GURPS version of Blue Planet for easy conversion to GURPS Trav, then to whatever system you want.

It's not a game for which I'd buy anymore material. I essentially bought it out of A) Curiosity and B) Fiction inspiration.

Good cover art too

link; http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/blueplanet/index.html

 

[kafka47]

If you can get your hands on the original Biohazzard game, I think it would make a great CT game, whereby, players have recently been assigned as security officers for the GEO & MegaCorporations to a planet who recently had its Indiction status lifted, the Scouts claim because they wanted to protect a unique indigenous culture. The truth lies much deeper beneath the surface all is not calm. Welcome to the world of Blue Planet. But, beware Poseidon is not known for its generosity. The FFG games are good add ons but they miss the scope and beauty of the original.

I just love the original promo...and you just can't beat Blair Renyolds art.

The planet . . .
A waterworld, home to a savage ecology and awash in the mystery of an ancient alien past.

The human race . . .
Desperate and dying on a famine-ravaged Earth, reaches hungrily for the once forgotten colony world and its promise of ultimate survival.

The Long John . . .
Hidden below the ocean floor, a priceless, enigmatic ore that holds the key to human DNA and the promise of human immortality.

The colony . . .
Transformed into a lawless frontier as mining corporations wage brutal war and colonists fight for the survival of their adopted world.

The aborigines . . .
Inscrutable, powerful, and enraged in defense of a primal heritage as ancient and mysterious as the planet's darkest waters.

The game . . .
A compelling journey into humanity's dark future on a distant planet where life is hard and dying is easy. A world where GEO Marshals enforce the peace and wired mercs patrol deep waters in deadly fighter subs. A place where corporate greed and human desperation ravage an alien ecology, threatening to plunge humanity into a war of survival with an ancient legacy.

 

[Rhialto the Marvelous]

IMHO Blue Planet is a stellar game, and I'm pretty sure you'll like it too, S4. Especially given what you seem to have in mind is a fairly gritty, "ground-level" game. BP has "Traveller campaign" written all over it.

The criticism usually levelled at BP is either--

a) BP is too mundane--it's a very "hard" water world, one of the designers was a marine biologist, and the issues you'll be dealing with (megacorps, pollution) feel almost 20th-century.

b) it's a sandbox--BP doesn't tell you precisely which adventures you're going to play in it; it's more like an open environment in which you narrow down the options yourself--but that's a very GDW approach.

As for what to do, Kafka mentioned some of it: You can be GEO Marshals, which are kinda like environmentally conscious Clint Eastwoods. Or biologists piloting your own research sub, trying to figure out the ancients. Or natives fighting megacorp miners encroaching on their territory looking for Long John.

Some people swear by the first edition. But v.2 is awesome in its own right--especially because of its half dozen supplements. Natural Selection is the best Monster Manual I've ever seen. These guys manage to turn some puny seaweed into an exciting plot hook. Haven gives you a great city environment. Etc.

The best part: Every year before Xmas, Fantasy Flight do a holiday sale, where they sell each BP hardback for 5 (five) bucks apiece. They still had copies last year.

Lastly, when in doubt, check out the review section on rpg.net. Some reviews are very detailed and give you a good sense of what to expect.

 

[kafka47]

Don't get me wrong the v2 is very good but it is just a very different game, if you are into the whole uplift thing and Sin City feel, then v2 is very good. I usually just raid the v2 for snapshots but nothing compared to the awe of the 1st edition. From what I heard of the GURPS version (and I must caution this hearsay based upon reviews) is that is simply a gun catalogue with nothing really added. There is lots of precedent for setting Traveller on one world only. The secret to duplicating the effects of the wormhole would be either do the "wormhole thing" (the Traveller universe is big enough to support a couple) or just place it isolated in a J-6 rift. You will have tweak the history a bit but that is nothing if not for a good referee does all the time anyhow.

 

[signless]

Yeah. Blue Planet rocks.
I've taken Poseidon and, with a few tweaks, combined it with the Nomads of the World Ocean adventure...and it's become a favorite setting among our group.

 

[Blue Ghost]

signless, do you have a write up you could share? I'd love to read it.

 

[Darkhstarr]

I leafed through Blue Planet & thought it was interesting. Definitely Traveller material for a campaign. Unfortunately, at the time I was unemployed & couldn't afford it.

 

[Blue Ghost]

I think BP is still available, for those interested.

http://www.biohazardgames.com/bp.html

 

[Gadrin]

I bought the GURPS version which is on sale for $9.95 (or was).

It's okay, I bought it just in case I need a water world background.