(hypothetical) What would you ask Dave Nilsen?
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Mr. Nilsen,
First, let me apologize for the flippant and cryptic nature of my post. This morning when I stumbled across your arrival here at COTI, I was truly stunned. Because of the way both TNE and you had been treated by Traveller's Internet fandom, I had never thought you'd return to Traveller and answer our questions.
Reading through your posts was a delight. As silly as it sounds, it left me with a bounce in my step. Had to believe, isn't it? Here's a man in his forties so happy in learning the answers to a few mysteries leftover from a dead version of a role-playing game? Then again, I shouted out loud and pumped my fist in the air when I read the Strephon still lived in Survival Margin. Yes, I should get a life.
As with any other momentous event, I began to reminisce this morning. When the Red Sox finally won the Series this year and after I finished screaming for joy, I had thought back to all the wonderful and horrible times they'd given me. Likewise, after reading about the Wave, Curtain, and all the rest this morning, I thought back to all the wonderful and horrible times Traveller has given me. Bari Stafford falls into both those categories.
I met him on the TML. After a introduction to listservers and bulletin boards very similar to yours (except with Diplomacy and not RPGs), I was leery about joining the List and so chose the pen name I'm now stuck with as insurance. The TML didn't turn out to be as wretched as advertised and even provided a bonus in lots of private e-mail conversations on the side. I don't remember why Bari and I began writing one another, but it began early and lasted until his death.
His messages were odd. Not the ideas in them mind you, but the physical nature of them. There were lots of spelling errors, missing punctuation and capitalization, and the like. I chalked it up to someone typing e-mails quickly in during a few moments stolen during the day. Odd or not, we regularly posted back and forth talking about little but Traveller.
Bari was working on one of those huge projects that seem to infect the Traveller fan base more than any other RPG. While others were content to exhaustively detail a world or pocket empire, Bari was thinking big, really, really big. The Zhodani had their Core Expedition and Bari had his Rim Route. He mapped out a multisector path to the Rim and peopled it with all sorts of sophonts and civilizations. (Clifford Linehan's site hosts Bari's work.)
I used to gently tweak him about all this, like asking how many subsectors he mapped this week or suggesting all sorts of silly planetary names like a cluster named after tropical fruits. Bari would write back with a LOL or two and then tell me all about the latest bits he'd finished.
Over time it became apparent to even a dolt like me that Bari was not at all well. He'd mention he was weary or apologize for not writing sooner because he had been ill. It took a few months, but he eventually told me he had ALS. Many of you probably know it by it's other name; Lou Gehrig's Disease. Even then, he never let on just how far his case actually had progressed. And I found out just how bad things were far, far too late.
You see, Bari was dying. He was all but bedridden. He used a wheelchair. He needed help breathing. On good days he typed with a finger or two. On bad days he typed with a stick held in his mouth. As his days dwindled down, he kept playing with Traveller. I can't fathom it myself. Surely there were other things he could have been doing. Yet here he was, picking away at a keyboard, writing UWPs, and spending his oh so precious time living vicariously in some utterly fantastic, far future setting.
The TML held a Ship Rodeo and Bari pecked away at his keyboard managing to submit his designs. The TML held a PC/NPC contest and Bari contributed. He, as 'General Turokan' and more than anyone else, was even responsible for the List's (in)famous 'Brawl in the Haul'. When he responded in character to a silly little post concerning someone hitting someone else with a barstool, the 'Brawl' was launched. Others may have sailed the 'Brawl' on to fame, but Bari was the one who smashed her bow with the champagne bottle.
When he died and his daughter wrote to tell me, most of the fun I had on the TML died also. To this day I don't post as often as I did when Bari and I wrote each other. It seems some of the fun I have with Traveller died about the same time too.
Reading your revelations about the Empress Wave, the Black Curtain, the fate of the Star Vikings, and all the rest brought all these memories of Bari back to me. Many of our notes to each other concerned TNE's unfinished business. We'd mull over the same hints and spin out explanation after explanation. Bari always told me that he'd never get to learn what it was all about and I, as a dope, never really understood what he meant until it was too late.
Instead, I'd make jokes. I'd tell Bari that he wasn't alone, that nobody would ever get to know the secrets because there were none. I'd tell Bari that the secret Loren and all the rest were sworn to keep was the fact that there was no secret at all, that GDW had not settled on any answers, and there was actually nothing to tell the fans. He'd send me another LOL or two in reply and then wonder again what the Empress Wave was all about.
Bari kept doing all this because he had faith. Indeed, after his hitch in the Army, he was ordained as a minister. His faith in his god was a comfort to him and, oddly enough, his faith in the possibility that Dave Nilsen would eventually deign to 'spill the beans' as he put it was a comfort too. As a wholly a-religious person, I couldn't understand the former and, as a confirmed cynic, I wouldn't believe the latter. Nilsen has had close to a decade, I'd tell Bari, and nary a word. Besides, I'd remind Bari, the fans savaged the man. Why should he bother, I'd ask.
This morning I knew Bari was right about one thing; Dave Nilsen would spill the beans. I just wish to hell that Bari were still around to see it. Well, enough with the tear jerking.
May I say thank you for all your work at GDW? I know you and all the others do not hear it often enough. Thank you.
While I did not personally care for the TNE setting, I would have to be a complete hypocrite not to stand in awe of the majority of TNE's products and the work that went into them. Survival Margin so neatly wrapped up the Rebellion's shambles as to be a miracle, something I couldn't imagine ever occurring. Path of Tears should be the sourcebook model for all others to follow. As a wargamer, Brilliant Lances is still part of my active rotation. Product by product, the list of TNE items can stand against anything else in the RPG world. Again, thank you all so very much.
If the floor is still open for questions, I have a small one from Aliens of the Rim. I've never been able to quite get the name of the ur-Hiver document the sidebar commentary references. What is the significance, or joke, behind 'Mechnod Photo Hello'?
Sincerely,
Bill Cameron
P.S. I see GC beat me to the punch concerning Bari!
First, let me apologize for the flippant and cryptic nature of my post. This morning when I stumbled across your arrival here at COTI, I was truly stunned. Because of the way both TNE and you had been treated by Traveller's Internet fandom, I had never thought you'd return to Traveller and answer our questions.
Reading through your posts was a delight. As silly as it sounds, it left me with a bounce in my step. Had to believe, isn't it? Here's a man in his forties so happy in learning the answers to a few mysteries leftover from a dead version of a role-playing game? Then again, I shouted out loud and pumped my fist in the air when I read the Strephon still lived in Survival Margin. Yes, I should get a life.
As with any other momentous event, I began to reminisce this morning. When the Red Sox finally won the Series this year and after I finished screaming for joy, I had thought back to all the wonderful and horrible times they'd given me. Likewise, after reading about the Wave, Curtain, and all the rest this morning, I thought back to all the wonderful and horrible times Traveller has given me. Bari Stafford falls into both those categories.
I met him on the TML. After a introduction to listservers and bulletin boards very similar to yours (except with Diplomacy and not RPGs), I was leery about joining the List and so chose the pen name I'm now stuck with as insurance. The TML didn't turn out to be as wretched as advertised and even provided a bonus in lots of private e-mail conversations on the side. I don't remember why Bari and I began writing one another, but it began early and lasted until his death.
His messages were odd. Not the ideas in them mind you, but the physical nature of them. There were lots of spelling errors, missing punctuation and capitalization, and the like. I chalked it up to someone typing e-mails quickly in during a few moments stolen during the day. Odd or not, we regularly posted back and forth talking about little but Traveller.
Bari was working on one of those huge projects that seem to infect the Traveller fan base more than any other RPG. While others were content to exhaustively detail a world or pocket empire, Bari was thinking big, really, really big. The Zhodani had their Core Expedition and Bari had his Rim Route. He mapped out a multisector path to the Rim and peopled it with all sorts of sophonts and civilizations. (Clifford Linehan's site hosts Bari's work.)
I used to gently tweak him about all this, like asking how many subsectors he mapped this week or suggesting all sorts of silly planetary names like a cluster named after tropical fruits. Bari would write back with a LOL or two and then tell me all about the latest bits he'd finished.
Over time it became apparent to even a dolt like me that Bari was not at all well. He'd mention he was weary or apologize for not writing sooner because he had been ill. It took a few months, but he eventually told me he had ALS. Many of you probably know it by it's other name; Lou Gehrig's Disease. Even then, he never let on just how far his case actually had progressed. And I found out just how bad things were far, far too late.
You see, Bari was dying. He was all but bedridden. He used a wheelchair. He needed help breathing. On good days he typed with a finger or two. On bad days he typed with a stick held in his mouth. As his days dwindled down, he kept playing with Traveller. I can't fathom it myself. Surely there were other things he could have been doing. Yet here he was, picking away at a keyboard, writing UWPs, and spending his oh so precious time living vicariously in some utterly fantastic, far future setting.
The TML held a Ship Rodeo and Bari pecked away at his keyboard managing to submit his designs. The TML held a PC/NPC contest and Bari contributed. He, as 'General Turokan' and more than anyone else, was even responsible for the List's (in)famous 'Brawl in the Haul'. When he responded in character to a silly little post concerning someone hitting someone else with a barstool, the 'Brawl' was launched. Others may have sailed the 'Brawl' on to fame, but Bari was the one who smashed her bow with the champagne bottle.
When he died and his daughter wrote to tell me, most of the fun I had on the TML died also. To this day I don't post as often as I did when Bari and I wrote each other. It seems some of the fun I have with Traveller died about the same time too.
Reading your revelations about the Empress Wave, the Black Curtain, the fate of the Star Vikings, and all the rest brought all these memories of Bari back to me. Many of our notes to each other concerned TNE's unfinished business. We'd mull over the same hints and spin out explanation after explanation. Bari always told me that he'd never get to learn what it was all about and I, as a dope, never really understood what he meant until it was too late.
Instead, I'd make jokes. I'd tell Bari that he wasn't alone, that nobody would ever get to know the secrets because there were none. I'd tell Bari that the secret Loren and all the rest were sworn to keep was the fact that there was no secret at all, that GDW had not settled on any answers, and there was actually nothing to tell the fans. He'd send me another LOL or two in reply and then wonder again what the Empress Wave was all about.
Bari kept doing all this because he had faith. Indeed, after his hitch in the Army, he was ordained as a minister. His faith in his god was a comfort to him and, oddly enough, his faith in the possibility that Dave Nilsen would eventually deign to 'spill the beans' as he put it was a comfort too. As a wholly a-religious person, I couldn't understand the former and, as a confirmed cynic, I wouldn't believe the latter. Nilsen has had close to a decade, I'd tell Bari, and nary a word. Besides, I'd remind Bari, the fans savaged the man. Why should he bother, I'd ask.
This morning I knew Bari was right about one thing; Dave Nilsen would spill the beans. I just wish to hell that Bari were still around to see it. Well, enough with the tear jerking.
May I say thank you for all your work at GDW? I know you and all the others do not hear it often enough. Thank you.
While I did not personally care for the TNE setting, I would have to be a complete hypocrite not to stand in awe of the majority of TNE's products and the work that went into them. Survival Margin so neatly wrapped up the Rebellion's shambles as to be a miracle, something I couldn't imagine ever occurring. Path of Tears should be the sourcebook model for all others to follow. As a wargamer, Brilliant Lances is still part of my active rotation. Product by product, the list of TNE items can stand against anything else in the RPG world. Again, thank you all so very much.
If the floor is still open for questions, I have a small one from Aliens of the Rim. I've never been able to quite get the name of the ur-Hiver document the sidebar commentary references. What is the significance, or joke, behind 'Mechnod Photo Hello'?
Sincerely,
Bill Cameron
P.S. I see GC beat me to the punch concerning Bari!
There never was any Traveller in any Scandinavian language, as far as I know. "Star Wars" from WEG, "MERP" from ICE, "D&D" (not the Advanced one) from TSR and "BRP" from Chaosium was translated, but that's it. Anders Blixt, a main force behind the Swedish MERP, is a big Traveller fan but I don't think a translation was ever though viable.
We are only 9 millions, and our Norwegian friends are something like 4 millions. There aren't any possibility of us not being very good at English. If fact, these days it's hard to sell RPG's in Swedish to customers older than 13 since we all know English fairly well. We all buy the games in the original language.
I learned much of the English I know from interactive fiction and roleplaying games. I think that a translation of CoC could have made it, since CoC have been one of the most popular RPG's in Sweden.
Now that you have appeared here I'm beginning to think about getting the Regency Sourcebook at last. When Joe Fugate showed up I started to buy DGP old stuff that I didn't have already and now you show up...
Even though I'm one of the conservative Traveller fans who never really liked the House System, or all change to the Imperium (even though it was for sound business decisions) I must say I always liked the look of TNE. I have thumbed through my TNE rulebook again and I kind of like it, even though I didn't care for the setting as such.
BTW Dave, I saw you mentioned your family name. I think it sounds like Danish to me. In Swedish it's more commonly known as 'Nilsson', "the son of Nils".
Andreas /Cymew/ Davour
I remember clearly the US players shot down some fighters and lost political points. To add insult to injury we started chanting "We will call CNN!"
BTW: I was was the force commander of a croup of missile boats that got blasted out of the water.
Yes I did get a copy of that, and I was laughing hard at the narative from the game. I even got my name in the book. My name even appears in the TNE rulebook. I would like to do this again =0) Time and money permit. Harpoon is not much popular here in Norway, and myself haven't expanded on it since GDW went down.
Probably. However I was lucky by being ignorant to how big it actually was in the beginning. MT was my first roleplaying game. Just a few months in advance a friend of mine had introduced me to Roleplaying games while I was on leave. I was instantly hooked. I bought MT just days after I got my permanent leave from the Royal Norwegian Navy.
But as I was reading the MT books I became aware of several other books with the title Traveller. I bought some and then the blast came when I found several other with reference to even more titles. With luck, my local (and only) store had quite a few. I managed to get all, but Zhodani and K'kree alien modules from this store. Zhodani I had seen, but when I had managed to scrounge money for it, it was gone. I managed to get it over the Ebay a year ago, where I also has managed to get several other titles.
A couple of years after I had bought MT I came in touch with HIWG, how I don't remember, but I think it was through an add in Challenge. First then I actually got a real glimpse of how big Traveller actually was with board games and so on.
I liked Traveller instantly because of its size in many respects. But I also got a bit frustrated. We had this big thing called Rebellion, but it didn't go anywhere. It was like the trenches of WWI. So I mostly played against the CT background, using MT rules. Now I use TNE rules and still play against the CT background, but this time also with an aim. I will bring my players through the CT 1105 approx. to wherever it ends sometime in 12xx. I even plan to put my players on Capitol the day Strephon gets it, and the mad dash to escape Lucans anger. Details are not ready yet, but with your revelation of the Black Curtain, my player will not like it [insert evil grin here].
Regards to the size of it I think a alot of newcomers felt it was too big. And several erratas did not help either. I never found anyone that bought and played MegaTraveller in Norway outside the small group I used to play with. But then again Norway is a small market.
Sure thing. I'll PM you my contact information.
None that I am aware of. At least not in Norwegian. A company tried to market D&D in Norwegian about 15 years ago. Recently it was sold of for something like 5 dollars a book. Two books was produced in hard cover. If something popular as D&D failed, Traveller wouldn't have much chance.
Is this the site in question? Project 004. Excellent work. I'd heard Bari's story before but didn't connect the two when I came across the site again recently. I like the writeup of Chaplain Bari Z. Turokan especially.
-Kevin J. Clement (so at least Casey's not too much of a stretch
)Dave, you asked about peoples thoughts on the RCVG. Being the gearhead I am I adored it. Not just for all the wonderful designs, but for the amount of thought that went into it. The different combat philosophies of the Marines and Army and the way that shaped the vehicles and their systems. The 20ton Heavy Grav Tank being too big for economical transport and ohh, so much more. My favorite vehicle is the TL15 Imperial Recovery Sled. An obvious idea when you think about it, but who else thought about it? I've been looking through RCVG (I'm lucky enough to have a dead tree version) and I do like the legend 'The Nilsen Express' on the illustration for the Imperial Marine Grav APC! As Uxi said, TNE all fits together and that is a great achievement.
On a more personal note, you mentioned my wife in your kind reply. When I met her she took to RPGs and wargaming like a duck to water, I thought "I'm not going to let this one get away!" We've been married now for 22 years in January. As to the soft cushions......a gentleman doesn't discuss those things lol!
In the intro to RCVG, the 43 Striker vehicles not described in TNE form are mentioned. I wonder if the original designs are still knocking about somewhere? Does anybody know?
On a more personal note, you mentioned my wife in your kind reply. When I met her she took to RPGs and wargaming like a duck to water, I thought "I'm not going to let this one get away!" We've been married now for 22 years in January. As to the soft cushions......a gentleman doesn't discuss those things lol!
In the intro to RCVG, the 43 Striker vehicles not described in TNE form are mentioned. I wonder if the original designs are still knocking about somewhere? Does anybody know?
daryen
SOC-14 1K
I will admit that I had to read it twice to see what it was trying to say. However, once I "got" it, I really liked how paradoxical (is that even a word) the Hivers are. To a great extent, they have a very, very tenuous hold on sentience.
I do admit that I had never read Aliens of the Rim. I think I need to try and track that down, now ...
You are quite welcome.
I thought the font sizes on that book were a bit screwy. Sometimes adjacent pages were in completely different sizes.
I have been contributing to the 1248 effort, primarily in the Regency area. As a result, I have had to look at the RSB a lot, and it has been my primary information source. This means I have read the book multiple times, and have to refer back to it frequently when working on stuff. As I read it, I have become more and more impressed with it. Not just in its content, but in how you wrote it.I like to think that I put a lot of that depth in there deliberately,but maybe you're thinking about something I'm not? If you don't mind sharing, what was some of the depth that you're thinking about that you enjoyed?
First and foremost was the one-page sidebar on Norris (p9). The description of Norris' "unsuccessful attempts to find a partner" clearly showed how successful he really had been. You clearly added a new wrinkle to Norris' character without directly saying it. That was a very good piece of writing.
Once I figured that out, I figured it was quite likely that the Norris item was not the only thing you "tucked away" in the RSB. At that point, I began to actively look for other stuff. While I admit that much of what I use is probably the results of my own fevered imagination, I have to think that at least some of it was intended.
With the Zhodani, you never explicitly state that the Consulate is "dead", you only talk about the strife and conflict in it. But it is readily apparent that there is no Consulate at all, and likely hasn't been for some time. They may have collapsed not much after the Imperium did.
Another thing is the Aslan. You strike an interesting, but odd balance. You faithfully describe the ihatei invasion, and take great pains to describe the ihatei and their equipment. But, when you look at the ihatei and their equipment, you quickly realize there is no way the invasion could have worked the way described with the ihatei equipped as described.
Out of curiousity, did you think the ihatei invasions were as nonsensical as many of us do?
And then there is the Regency itself. There are so many problems and divisions within it, it is amazing it didn't fall apart by 1202. In 1248, the Regency splinters. Many who read the playtest would ask how Regency could fall apart. I respond by asking how could the Regency stay together? (Obviously, based on your comments in this thread, you intended them to, but only with great difficulty.)
A little detail is the Islands. The Regency took it over, in the theory of protecting itself from Virus. But, considering the Rape of Trin (which shows that Virus doesn't need the Islands to get in) and that no Virus involvement with the dead Island worlds was found, it would seem that there is really a different reason for taking the Islands. I postulate that so the Regency can have a door to the old Imperial space that bypasses Corridor and Vland. Was that intended?
Another item is the Daryen. On the surface, it appears that the Daryens are as they always were, and are faithful Regency allies. But looking at the details, it looks to me like the Regency is actively coopting the Daryens to the point that, if the path in the RSB doesn't change, the Daryens will be annexed by the Regency, either in fact or effect. Was this intended?
As I am rambling at this point, I want to point out one last item. I really appreciate your "expose" on the Jonkereen. You label them as a failed experiment, and why they are failed, and the tragedy they have become. Well done.
daryen
SOC-14 1K
At the risk of ruining my previous post, I want to mention two nits with the RSB: one little, one big.
The little one is the non-mention of the Floriani. I understand that the RSB didn't cover the subsectors with the Florian League, but it would still have been good to have a sidebar mentioning their existance, their rough current condition (e.g. "lost no ground after the initial Aslan attacks spurred by the Rebellion"), and their influence on things.
The big thing is the TL inflation. Regency space gains a lot of techinical increases in the RSB, some worlds even jumping 3 or 4 TLs. I understand the unique pressures the Regency was under, but the amount of TL increases seen in the RSB is truly unprecidented in all of Traveller.
I do agree things should have "moved forward" and there might have been some special cases with big jumps, but the across the board increases were a bit much.
The little one is the non-mention of the Floriani. I understand that the RSB didn't cover the subsectors with the Florian League, but it would still have been good to have a sidebar mentioning their existance, their rough current condition (e.g. "lost no ground after the initial Aslan attacks spurred by the Rebellion"), and their influence on things.
The big thing is the TL inflation. Regency space gains a lot of techinical increases in the RSB, some worlds even jumping 3 or 4 TLs. I understand the unique pressures the Regency was under, but the amount of TL increases seen in the RSB is truly unprecidented in all of Traveller.
I do agree things should have "moved forward" and there might have been some special cases with big jumps, but the across the board increases were a bit much.
Loren Wiseman on his web site gives his views of why GDW went out of business. Certainly he mentions the problem with loss of market to CCGs as one of several factors. He also talks about others.
I'm not saying that Dave was incorrect, but it's just possible Loren has a wider view of the subject. I believ that Dave was an employee of GDW. Loren was one of the owners, and soem of the problems pre-dated Dave's tenure there.
Check it out at:
http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/faq.html#B
M
Malenfant
Guest
And your point is? I mean, Betamax was better than VHS, but that still disappeared while the techincally worse format survived...
As Terry said, Loren lists all the reasons on his website. Dave mentioned some of them. But it seems that a lot of things came together at that time that resulted in GDW shutting its doors.
It's easy to say "it's a bit much" to believe from the ground when you know nothing about the RPG industry, and with hindsight behind you. You can go on about "crippling the game" and "alienating players" all you like, but the fact is that doesn't appear to have been a significant reason for GDW's demise, regardless of how many people would like to think so.
First, let me add my thanks for answering so "Freakin'"
many questions. (Just so we can get it out of the way, you know, shoved to one side.) The Frank Chadwick question was meant more for Frank Chadwick himself, but nice to know.What I meant was, would you change anything about the Traveller universe/game system?
OK, so I'm a hopeless geek, replying to my own posting. Anyway, now that I'm home, I've added a few pics to my Repair Bays. One is of my collection of miniature ships & tanks, the other is a close-up on the G-Carrier menitioned earlier. Maybe it'll give you a better idea that my stunning ASCII works-of-art.
Go to http://www.tip.net.au/~davidjwBeowulf Down, then select Tavonni Repair Bays ==> Pictures.
Hi Dave!
I too had immense fun with TNE although for me it was really the possibilities with pocket empires that lit my fire.
Anyway my question (and I’m afraid that it’s a technical one) is this. One of the changes in TNE was that the standard in-system drive was no longer a reactionless thruster plate but HEPLaR. It was a subtle difference but one that had a surprising number of repercussions. It took longer than one week to make many (most?) in system transfers (especially after the revisions that came with the Referee’s Screen) so it was quicker to make a jump instead. Gas giant refuelling became a rarity and running out of/keeping track of fuel became a major issue in ship travel. Would you mind expanding on the process by which you came to decide on the change to HEPLaR? In particular, were you conscious of all of the repercussions when you made the decision? Did you ever regret making the change?
It’s a small point really but somehow it’s a question that’s puzzled me for the last 10 years.
I too had immense fun with TNE although for me it was really the possibilities with pocket empires that lit my fire.
Anyway my question (and I’m afraid that it’s a technical one) is this. One of the changes in TNE was that the standard in-system drive was no longer a reactionless thruster plate but HEPLaR. It was a subtle difference but one that had a surprising number of repercussions. It took longer than one week to make many (most?) in system transfers (especially after the revisions that came with the Referee’s Screen) so it was quicker to make a jump instead. Gas giant refuelling became a rarity and running out of/keeping track of fuel became a major issue in ship travel. Would you mind expanding on the process by which you came to decide on the change to HEPLaR? In particular, were you conscious of all of the repercussions when you made the decision? Did you ever regret making the change?
It’s a small point really but somehow it’s a question that’s puzzled me for the last 10 years.
I finally got a chance to print out this thread. WOW! Dave, you did a fabulous job in answering all of our questions and dealing with your critics in fair and gentlemanly manner.
As to your query to what was/is "Candles Against the Night", it was the TNE set in the Reavers Deep sector to be found in the early Traveller Chronicles, if memory serves me right...
Hope that you will be convinced/press ganged into doing something for M:1248. Funny how we both thought of the Black Curtain the same way...
As to your query to what was/is "Candles Against the Night", it was the TNE set in the Reavers Deep sector to be found in the early Traveller Chronicles, if memory serves me right...
Hope that you will be convinced/press ganged into doing something for M:1248. Funny how we both thought of the Black Curtain the same way...
