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Gurps Traveller: Starlore

J

jatay3

SOC-13
One weakness of some Sci Fi is it's tendency toward rationalization. Everything has to have a rational explanation-even such things which common sense will tell you, are in fact no more probable then fairy tales(why are aliens on other planets more probable then Fair Folk? We havn't been to other planets yet, but the Good People are supposed to be skillful at hiding are they not?). Thus some Sci-Fi can seem "cold" to some. One solution is simply to combine Sci-fi and fantasy-the best I have seen of this is the second season of Buck Rogers.
But turning Traveller into space opera of that model would make it no longer Traveller.
A suggestion I have is to build a framework of folklore into Traveller. Imagine what sort of stories people who live in that universe would tell each other while relaxing at Brubeks. Give a series of stories and poems-and perhaps make up a new character template(Bard? Folkloreist?-subcategory of entertainer) and a side note about such things as schools those people go to to learn their trade. Perhaps intersperse a campaign with short-stories told by GM the way "Watership Down"(the rabbit novel by Richard Adams) does. This will require patience but could be rewarding. I am not thinking primarily of a campaign based primarily on this sort of theme, but one in which Traveller folklore is added for the flavor. The idea should be that the universe that the PC's are in is the normal one(or is it?)but these things are stories told "just for fun"(are we sure?)a slight element of uncertainty can add to the ambiance here. The important thing is that this is a way of adding background. Think Aslan telling tales of the "Great Deeds of Their Ancestors" while in jump-space. This method is not the only way Traveller folklore can be introduced but it is one. I do not think the nature of Sophants really changes much and Traveller doesn't think so. Just as Travellers trade, plot, explore, and wage war, so they are likly to tell stories.
Some hints of this sort of thing are already given, such as the legend of the "Robert the Bruce", the Vilani jump-dimming, and the two "tall-tales" in the side notes of Traveller: Starports(remember the one about the cosmic poker game between the various lords of the Imperium).
Traveller is already quite deep. But it could be even deeper.
 
By the way, their is no particular reason to assume that almost all Travellers would assume such stories are made up. Rationality, belief and even mere superstition* can coexist in a society to a suprising degree-as was shown by the Renaisance. A classic example is Francis Bacon who was not only a scientist, but actually experimented with magic-in a very "scientific" manner. Just because such things are out of fashion now(are they?)doesn't mean it will always be that way.
In anycase as I said Traveller folklore should be part of the background. The main universe should continue as normal with just a wee bit of "are you sure?". That is not the only way to do it, but it is the way I would prefer IMTU-and presumably others will agree.
It is also a way for the GM to confuse the PC's when he wants them confused by adding more options for "false leads". And of course once they are sure it's all a bunch of Blarney, the GM can drop the real goal on them-which of course will be just as implausible as all those other stories.


*as I define it, superstition is not merely belief in the supernatural, but involves things like irrationality, gullibility, and even in a sense materialism. For instance if I say that I pay tithe to show my gratitude for Christ's sacrifice that is belief. If I actually think that I will have an unlucky day simply because I forgot to pay tithe, that is superstition.
 
(why are aliens on other planets more probable then Fair Folk? We havn't been to other planets yet, but the Good People are supposed to be skillful at hiding are they not?).
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From the literary perspective I really do think that aliens are this centuries version of fairies. Some really do believe in them of course, some don't and some are more in the "who cares" category. Much as with are ancestors. My personal opinion is that I suppose it's possible but that a good portion of those who think they have seen aliens have had a little to much to drink. Which is probably what our ancestors thought too.
But non-human Sophants are often a very useful literary device.
 
There could be a lot of folktales concerning jump space, misjumps etc. and some must have an element of truth to them ;)
Tales like Vilani visiting the Earth during the babylonian era may exist on many planets, as will ancestral legends of other visitors from the stars.
 
Swordie legends are of course easy to do. They no doubt have a lot of influence from Germanic tales. They also have a lot of local rural stories. Of course they would have lots connected with Hearthfires.
One Swordie legend I made up which some might remember is, "The Curse of the Sword Worlds"-during the Great Voyage a foraging party committed some atrocity. However the Gram Council refused to punish those responsible because one of those involved had influential reliatives, or something like that. As a result the Curse:

For you are stained with unjust blood, blood shall follow in thy way
Kinsmen slaying kinsmen from dawn 'til end of day
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Vilani would like something similar to classic Chinese war stories. I am told these lean more toward the "cloak & dagger" rather than the "blood & thunder"-presumably the listeners got the same sort of pleasure they would from playing chess.
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Other legends might be: the "ship guardian fairy"-each starship has it's own fairy which lives in it and guards it.

The Snatchers: mysterious and malicious creatures said to haunt jump-space. They have incredible but vague powers. According to some versions they are the ghosts of spacers who have died in jump-space, ever envious of those who still live and are thus free to reenter normal space.
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The Emperor's Ghost-wanders through the palace at Capital. Taletellers differ on which Emperor it is

actually the palace must be full of ghosts...
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Vargr Corsairs always paint their ships with groat's blood when going on a raid
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Various starports have tales of "the Wanderer" who goes about disguised as a floater. Those who are kind to him will have good forune, those who don't won't.
 
an idea inspired from "German-speaking Traveller players"
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jatay3
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Icon 1 posted April 26, 2006 03:10 PMApril 26, 2006 03:10 PM Profile for jatay3 Send New Private Message Edit/Delete Post Reply With Quote The Lurker parter refers to the fact that people associate the Haunting Lurker as creature that "lurks." It's a bat-like creature that can fly very slowly when it desires (nearly hovering) and lacks the distinctive 'flapping' noises that Earth bats make when they fly. So they're very quiet for the most part, though the ultrasonic cries they make to echolocate can't quite be heard by humans, it leaves humans with a sense of unease, thus areas where these bats tend to hunt were considered "haunted." They tend to be very patient and wait for their prey to settle down in some fashion before attacking, thus they lurk. They secrete a natural painkilling venom that they 'spit' onto their targets before feeding so those being fed on don't feel it. People would go to sleep out in the open, and the bat would literally eat parts of the face off...and the victim would have never felt a thing. As always, if you can think of a more evocative German name for such a creature, I'm always open for suggestions/ideas.
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How about Nacht-Kobald(night haunter)? German mariners used to have legends about the "Kobald", a sort of ghost that haunts unlucky ships. To carry the analogy further, one can say that the Nacht-Kobald lives near seacoasts and is especially annoying to fishermen. Or they might live just outside the starport and come in at certain times. Furthermore to carry this further one can add to them all sorts of scary folktales of the kind that Central and Eastern European's seem to have a gift for. Perhaps a character who is like that "Jonah"-obsessed sailor, in Master & Commander? Perhaps the colonists are convinced that the new Port Director and the PC's must have committed murder and are therefore attracting the Nacht-Kobald, whose right it is to prey on the Abandoned...
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better yet, the Nacht-Kobald's are according to legend servants of THE Nacht-Kobald, who has a right to oathbreakers, murderers, and others who have committed crimes grave enough as to class them with the Abandoned.
The PC's are the new Port Director and his staff. While they are there the colonists have become convinced that the PC's are cursed. Remember superstitions don't usually arise out of thin air but are explanations for two phenomena that are indeed conected but in a more boring way then the tale-teller envisioned. So maybe the PC's do have something about them that attracts the Nacht-Kobalds to the Starport. Or maybe one of them is really Abandoned?
 
One thing I made up for a story I wrote:

Sun-ghouls. They can appear in the gravity well of any sun, and it will try to lick the ship-owner/captain/crewmember; if successful, the ship will burst into flames. No-one knows if the ship will actually burn, but it will burst into flames.
 
There was one story in Scotland that a boatbuilder rescued a mermaid stranded on shore. As you have probably guessed the mermaid gave him any wish he desired. The wish was that none of the boats he built would sink, and none who sailed on them would drown. According to the legend the decendants of that boatbuilder are respected shipwrights in Scotland and they still haven't built a vessel that sank.
Could that be adapted?
 
Had some ideas about Belter religions, a combination of scripture and folklore, charting the real or imagined course of the belter 'tribes', from before the Rule of Man, through the Long Night. A garbled and apocryphal account of history, as seen through the eyes of these marginal wanderers.

One 'book' features the adventures of an adventurer Gaden, a sort of Robin Hood/Zorro figure that has entered the popular consciousness to the point that movies and sensoria shows are made about him. Whether he actually existed is debated furiously by historians and theologians.

Another idea is that during the Long Night a generation ship full of belters crossed the Great Rift, with lots of weird stories given great significance, like the ghosts of the Lost in the bilges, or of an mysterious and terrifying enemy pursuing. Eventually they reach the Aslan colonies to spinward. Instead of destroying them the Aslan give them settlement rights in the asteroids and belts (a place Aslan just wouldn't exploit, due to their need for territory and open spaces under the sky). Over time these human belters become a virtual Aslan tribe, albeit keeping their human societal conventions (somewhat like the Jews in medieval Europe, doing tasks thought beneath Christians like moneylending, but without the anti-Semitism). At this point all the tales are codified by a belter prophet, giving the stories a certain spin and coloured by Aslan culture. a sort of post Judaeo-Christian book cult.

As these Solomani belters migrate up to coreward and enter the Marches, they encounter Vilani derived belters (Stellar Divinity), with all the ensuing conflicts, misunderstandings, and agreements this entails. The stories become even more garbled, but a rich source of Travellers tales, since there's always a belter in every port.
 
jatay3
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Icon 1 posted April 29, 2006 10:04 PMApril 29, 2006 10:04 PM Profile for jatay3 Send New Private Message Edit/Delete Post Reply With Quote Dunryc
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Icon 1 posted April 27, 2006 07:24 AMApril 27, 2006 07:24 AM Profile for Dunryc Send New Private Message Edit/Delete Post Reply With Quote Well, actually this "creature" originates from the "Kobold" (Leprechaun) stock, this subspecies is called "Klabautermann".

Wikipedia:
A Klabautermann is a water sprite (or nix) who assists sailors and fishermen on the Baltic Sea in their duties. He is a merry and diligent creature, with an expert understanding of most watercraft, and an unsupressable musical talent. He also rescues sailors washed overboard.

His image is of a small sailor in yellow with a tobacco pipe and woolen sailor's cap. This likeness is carved and attached to the mast as a symbol of good luck.

Despite the positive attributes, there is one omen associated with his presence: no member of a ship blessed by his presence shall ever set eyes on him. He only ever becomes visible to the crew of a doomed ship.

The Klabautermann is sometimes described as having more sinister attributes, and blamed for things that go wrong on the ship. This incarnation of the Klabautermann is more demon- or goblin-like, prone to play pranks and, eventually, doom the ship and her crew.
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interesting. and more can be made of that too which really belongs in post "starlore".
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another transfer
 
Originally posted by jatay3:
The Klabautermann is sometimes described as having more sinister attributes, and blamed for things that go wrong on the ship. This incarnation of the Klabautermann is more demon- or goblin-like, prone to play pranks and, eventually, doom the ship and her crew.
Click to expand...
So the Klabautermann is the German equivalent of a Gremlin?

Now, folklore is a part of every culture - technology does not do away with it, only changes it (see the appearance of UFO folklore, some might be true, some might not, but its an equivalent of the belief in demons and gremlins in a semi-scientific dressing). Add to that wierd physics, wierder mathematics, jumpspace, psionics (of which the avarage joe knows very little facts but alot of rumors), malfunctioning AIs, the wierder parts of psionics (if psionics could teleport people, it might also be capable of "teleporting" - summoning in older terms - extra-dimensional beings into our dimension), ghosts - and add the overly-active human (or alien) imagination to this.
 
Echoing the sediment above, I am not sure why Traveller would not have an active folklore culture. Sure the characters may use scientific prowseness to uncover the science behind something but it would not stop the locals in believing in it and for a while the players. Only when they have become the status of Travellers will they also loose all their quaint Homeworldism. A good Referee with old players and newbies could play off the relationship akin to Mulder (newbies) & Scully (old players)...with the Scully becoming more like the Mulders whilst the wackyness of the universe confirming a solution that might need a hybrid.

Scientific Rationalism need not be entirely dismised, as wasn't Newton who called himself the last great Wizard? The more complicated Tech gets the less the players will actually understand how the things actually work.
 
kafka47
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Icon 1 posted April 30, 2006 02:15 PMApril 30, 2006 02:15 PM Profile for kafka47 Send New Private Message Edit/Delete Post Reply With Quote Echoing the sediment above, I am not sure why Traveller would not have an active folklore culture. Sure the characters may use scientific prowseness to uncover the science behind something but it would not stop the locals in believing in it and for a while the players. Only when they have become the status of Travellers will they also loose all their quaint Homeworldism. A good Referee with old players and newbies could play off the relationship akin to Mulder (newbies) & Scully (old players)...with the Scully becoming more like the Mulders whilst the wackyness of the universe confirming a solution that might need a hybrid.

Scientific Rationalism need not be entirely dismised, as wasn't Newton who called himself the last great Wizard? The more complicated Tech gets the less the players will actually understand how the things actually work.

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“What’s it like being a traveler?I mean, what do you get out of it?”
"It’s a way of life.Some like it,some don’t.I do.”
“How do you go about it?What do you do between trips?”
“Look around,get a job,build another stake for passage to somewhere else."
Sociability: 3051 | From: For the most part : Toronto, Canada | Became a Citizen: Mar 2001 | Report this post to a Moderator
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For that matter Travellers could have their own folklore.
 
First, Jatay- is there a reason why you're not using the quote button (" " , at the top of messages) when quoting people? Whatever you're doing at the moment makes your posts rather confusing to read... (looks like you're just copy/pasting the entire message, buttons and other text included)

Second, I'm sure there's got to be loads of 'urban myths' and legends and tall tales and strange mysteries in Traveller.

I'm not sure if Morrigan Press are planning to do a new version of the old TTA book "Spacewreck" but that was full of nifty ideas. Things like space stations that had been overrun by mutated plants when radiation screening failed, and ships that had been encased in ice by some weird natural phenomenon, colony ships crashing on alien worlds, abandoned planets where nature has overrun a dead civilisation, and a rather cool misjump where a passenger liner collided with a mirror of itself. Add to that tales of mysterious alien ruins that people entered and never returned from, strange diseases, deadspace (if you're in 1248) and so on and you've got plenty of spooky stories to regale eachother with at Brubek's...
 
The slow slow rate of news would encourage a lot of wild speculation to fill the gaps. And since news travels just as fast as people, an organization that wants to gather and spread news would do well to send out a network of 'bards' .. carousers, storytellers, who aren't fancy jukeboxes, but rather important sources of information. How is the war really going? What's the Duke like in person? What're the subjects saying about the nobility? Did you see my sister on Backwater IV, is she in good health?

Good stories would get made up and passed along, stories that might not quite be true in all details but fit the local narrative.
 
Originally posted by Malenfant:
First, Jatay- is there a reason why you're not using the quote button (" " , at the top of messages) when quoting people? Whatever you're doing at the moment makes your posts rather confusing to read... (looks like you're just copy/pasting the entire message, buttons and other text included)

Second, I'm sure there's got to be loads of 'urban myths' and legends and tall tales and strange mysteries in Traveller.

I'm not sure if Morrigan Press are planning to do a new version of the old TTA book "Spacewreck" but that was full of nifty ideas. Things like space stations that had been overrun by mutated plants when radiation screening failed, and ships that had been encased in ice by some weird natural phenomenon, colony ships crashing on alien worlds, abandoned planets where nature has overrun a dead civilisation, and a rather cool misjump where a passenger liner collided with a mirror of itself. Add to that tales of mysterious alien ruins that people entered and never returned from, strange diseases, deadspace (if you're in 1248) and so on and you've got plenty of spooky stories to regale eachother with at Brubek's...
Click to expand...
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To answer I could not find the quote button until just now.
 
Originally posted by Genjuro:
The slow slow rate of news would encourage a lot of wild speculation to fill the gaps. And since news travels just as fast as people, an organization that wants to gather and spread news would do well to send out a network of 'bards' .. carousers, storytellers, who aren't fancy jukeboxes, but rather important sources of information. How is the war really going? What's the Duke like in person? What're the subjects saying about the nobility? Did you see my sister on Backwater IV, is she in good health?

Good stories would get made up and passed along, stories that might not quite be true in all details but fit the local narrative.
Click to expand...
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In the DOS game Marco Polo, they are always having a scene that goes something like "You proceed to a small in. The food is not pleasant and neither is the company. But hardship is a travellers fate. Two mysterious men walk toward you. One of them says, 'have you heard of...'"
 
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