Looking for a Traveller game to join.
- Thread starter NDS
- Start date
Well, that's two of us to play if one of you would like to DM, any volunteers?
I guess my preference would be CT (only rules I have at the moment until T20 arrives) in PBEM form but obviously GM has the final say.
My email is nick.scott@canoemail.com
I guess my preference would be CT (only rules I have at the moment until T20 arrives) in PBEM form but obviously GM has the final say.
My email is nick.scott@canoemail.com
Hmm... I might be up to GM a PBEM game. What genera?
Classic Merchant – Fly around, buy and sell, get rich. It would be up to the goals of the party to drive the campaign. This works well with some player-groups, but often players just sort of show up and say, “Gosh GM, what’s my character supposed to do tonight?”
Pirate – The Anti-Merchant Campaign. The old saying goes. “All merchant campaigns become pirate campaigns after 6 months.” So, why wait? Purpose-built pirate characters with specialized equipment and a ship. The terror of the skies!
Skiptracers – The Anti-Pirate Campaign. This is a great option because the party doesn’t need a ship. If the party does have a ship, a combo Merchant/Skiptracer campaign is a great option and offers lots of flexibility. This combo campaign could be great fun and run a long time.
Classic Mercenary – Start small, get big, lots of fighting ,and MONEY! Role-playing massed combat sucks, so I have all kinds of plans for adventures while the mercs are on weekend pass, while between contracts, etc.
Scout – Exploration/First Contact. Dust off my old copy of Leviathan and lead the players off into the unknown. Very “Star Trek”ish. Lots of options for game sessions. Lots of fun to be had here.
Noble Dilettantes - Go after the secret of the Ancients. With the right players, this would just be SO MUCH FUN! Wealthy nobles with too much time and money on their hands, hunter guides leading them off on adventure, absent-minded professors doing their field research, and don’t forget the professor’s beautiful niece! There is just so much potential for fun it makes my head swim!
Naval – Command small vessels, work up to Heavy Metal. Kind of “Honor Harrington” style. It would be set in the days just before the Fifth Frontier War. The only problem is I don’t know how to NOT make it a tabletop space combat game. The options for character interaction, character development and role-playing just don’t seem to be there.
Political/Espionage – Schemes within schemes. I have a few ideas for this. Sort of “Top Secret” but set during the Fifth Frontier War.
Frankly, I would prefer GURPS, just because of the level of detail you can flesh your character out to. For instance, you can have a street fighter with a point or two in Brawling who is a competent fighter, OR your character might be a talented Golden Gloves amateur boxer with several Boxing maneuvers like Jab, Round House Punch and Riposte. In a fight, the brawler might still win, but each character would fight differently.
I think, because we would never meet face to face and all I would have is your character sheet, that level of detail in the character would be VERY helpful.
Classic Merchant – Fly around, buy and sell, get rich. It would be up to the goals of the party to drive the campaign. This works well with some player-groups, but often players just sort of show up and say, “Gosh GM, what’s my character supposed to do tonight?”
Pirate – The Anti-Merchant Campaign. The old saying goes. “All merchant campaigns become pirate campaigns after 6 months.” So, why wait? Purpose-built pirate characters with specialized equipment and a ship. The terror of the skies!
Skiptracers – The Anti-Pirate Campaign. This is a great option because the party doesn’t need a ship. If the party does have a ship, a combo Merchant/Skiptracer campaign is a great option and offers lots of flexibility. This combo campaign could be great fun and run a long time.
Classic Mercenary – Start small, get big, lots of fighting ,and MONEY! Role-playing massed combat sucks, so I have all kinds of plans for adventures while the mercs are on weekend pass, while between contracts, etc.
Scout – Exploration/First Contact. Dust off my old copy of Leviathan and lead the players off into the unknown. Very “Star Trek”ish. Lots of options for game sessions. Lots of fun to be had here.
Noble Dilettantes - Go after the secret of the Ancients. With the right players, this would just be SO MUCH FUN! Wealthy nobles with too much time and money on their hands, hunter guides leading them off on adventure, absent-minded professors doing their field research, and don’t forget the professor’s beautiful niece! There is just so much potential for fun it makes my head swim!
Naval – Command small vessels, work up to Heavy Metal. Kind of “Honor Harrington” style. It would be set in the days just before the Fifth Frontier War. The only problem is I don’t know how to NOT make it a tabletop space combat game. The options for character interaction, character development and role-playing just don’t seem to be there.
Political/Espionage – Schemes within schemes. I have a few ideas for this. Sort of “Top Secret” but set during the Fifth Frontier War.
Frankly, I would prefer GURPS, just because of the level of detail you can flesh your character out to. For instance, you can have a street fighter with a point or two in Brawling who is a competent fighter, OR your character might be a talented Golden Gloves amateur boxer with several Boxing maneuvers like Jab, Round House Punch and Riposte. In a fight, the brawler might still win, but each character would fight differently.
I think, because we would never meet face to face and all I would have is your character sheet, that level of detail in the character would be VERY helpful.
In a campaign I ran many years ago the PCs were troubleshooters/safari guides/speculative merchants wandering District 268 and Five Sisters in their safari ship. We had two scouts, a former corsair, a minor alien looking to be come a merchant prince and an aviator from a low-ish tech planet. (The last two were involved at different times in the campaign). I've long been partial to troubleshooters. . .
the thing about Troubleshooters is they need a VERY high-placed patron. The patron would then need a REASON to have hired that particular person. Let's face it, if an exec in a Fortune 500 company needs someone to do a job for him, he is NOT going to walk into a local bar.
He's going to want people with a proven track record of problem solving. So, let's say high ranking Imperial Navy or Imperial Marine officers, experienced merchant ship captains and brokers from long-established shipping and trading companies, in some cases academics and scientists with long research and development histories.
Hmm… So if we had 3 PCs, one an ex-Marine Lt. Col. with massive combat and demolition skills, one a Merchant Captain will all kinds of ship-board and merchant skills and one Professor right off of Gilligan’s Island, it could work.
Toss in a flaky robot to run the ship and an NPC Professor’s Niece who specializes in Being Rescued and I’d say we had a party.
Simon Jester
SOC-12
I'd like to get in on this, too, if possible. My Traveller group has broken up (two deployments,a marriage and a move) so I'm looking for a good game. Most any system will do, but I don't own GRIP yet.
Simon Jester
Damage169@cs.com
OK, So far
Phydaux: Thanks for Volunteering to GM
NDS: PC
Nurd_boy: PC
Vargas: PC
Simon Jester: PC
I really like the sound of the Skiptracers idea.
Any other opinions?
GURPS is fine if I can get by with the free download rules. I'm saving my pennies for T20. If you were to role up a useful character for the campaign you have in mind I would be happy to flesh out the details.
Phydaux: Thanks for Volunteering to GM
NDS: PC
Nurd_boy: PC
Vargas: PC
Simon Jester: PC
I really like the sound of the Skiptracers idea.
Any other opinions?
GURPS is fine if I can get by with the free download rules. I'm saving my pennies for T20. If you were to role up a useful character for the campaign you have in mind I would be happy to flesh out the details.
No problem. I can provide the free version of the GURPS rules on .PDF (GURPS LITE, 450k) plus a shareware character creation utility (GURPS Character Assistant, 1.5 MB). I'll post links to them as soon as I FTP them to my Web site.
So we have poss. 3 players and either a Troubleshooters or Skiptracers campaign?
Hmmm....
Anyone else have any thoughts?
So we have poss. 3 players and either a Troubleshooters or Skiptracers campaign?
Hmmm....
Anyone else have any thoughts?
NDS,
Here's a sample GURPS Traveller character, and a Skiptracer to boot. I made him up as a player character, but I never got to play him. I'd say he's a fairly normal example of a GURPS Traveller character.
Name: Skip Stern
Race: Human - Solomani
Player:
Attributes
----------
10 ST
14 DX
14 IQ
11 HT
Description
-----------
Skip Stern is a tall, slender man of Solomani decent. He is 35 years old, six feet tall and weighs 140 pounds. He has brown eyes and has light brown hair.
As a youth, skip applied for and was accepted to the Merchant Academy. He was a good student and excelled during the annual "Summer Cruises." While at the Academy he joined the boxing team and earned a reputation as a good boxer.
After the Academy he was hired by Tukera Lines. He served three terms for Tukera without incident. He rotated between Engineering and Deck departments and was promoted quickly. At the end of his third term with Tukera he was a First Officer and had earned his Chief Engineer's License and Unlimited Master's License. Tukera offered him a promotion to Captain and command of a three thousand ton freighter if he would reenlist. Skip jumped at the offer.
Shortly after taking command of the freighter, Skip was in the Rylanor system, outbound to Regina with a load of computer parts. There was another Tukera ship inbound. After a series of miscalculations, the two ships collided. There was no loss of life, but their was tens of megacredits of damage to each ship. During the inquiry, it came out that the other captian was drunk on duty. He was also the son of a Baron who was a major Tukera stockholder. When the inquiry board made it's finding, Skip was handed the blame. He was discharged from Tukera without benefits. Further, his Unlimited Master's License was revoked.
For the last several months Skip has hung around the starports of the Spinward Main. He exchanges travel for working passage, but always under an assumed name. He has applied for and received his Skiptracer's License.
Advantages
----------
5 Alertness
15 Combat Reflexes
10 Legal Enforcement Powers (+2)
4 Strong Will
Disadvantages
-------------
-10 Bad Temper
-5 Code of Honor (Pirate Code)
-10 Duty (Obay and Uphold the Law)
-5 Obsession (Get License Back)
-5 Odious Personal Habit (Smokes)
-5 Reputation (Merchant Crews - Lost Shipmaster's License)
Quirks
------
-1 Cafeine Addict
-1 Hates to be called "Skipper" or "Skippy"
-1 Likes Vilani Opera
-1 Only Smokes Mora Rough Shag Filter 100's
-1 Thinks Brubek's is for Loosers
Skills
------
13 1.0 Administration
14 1.0 Area Knowledge (Spinward Main)
14 0.0 Arm or Wrist Lock
12 0.5 Armoury (Ship's Guns)
14 2.0 Astrogation
11 0.5 Astronomy
15 4.0 Boxing
10 1.0 Carousing
13 0.5 Computer Operation
12 0.5 Criminology
12 1.0 Detect Lies
12 0.5 Driving (Air Raft)
12 0.5 Electronics Operation (Comm)
13 1.0 Electronics Operation (Security Systems)
12 0.5 Electronics Operation (Sensors)
13 2.0 Engineer (Starship)
14 0.5 Fast-Draw (Pistol)
13 1.0 Fast-Talk
13 0.5 First Aid
12 0.5 Free Fall
13 1.0 Gambling
14 0.5 Gunner (Ship's Guns)
15 0.5 Guns (Light Auto)
15 0.5 Guns (Pistol)
13 2.0 History (Spinward Marches)
15 4.0 Hit Location (Boxing)
13 1.0 Interrogation
13 1.0 Intimidation
15 2.0 Jab
13 0.5 Jumping
14 0.0 Language (Galanglic)
13 2.0 Law
13 2.0 Literature (Vilani Opera)
13 1.0 Lockpicking
13 1.0 Mechanic (Fusion Plant)
13 1.0 Mechanic (Jump Drive)
13 1.0 Mechanic (Manuver Drive)
13 0.5 Motorcycle
14 2.0 Piloting (Starship)
14 4.0 Reposte
15 2.0 Roundhouse Punch
8 0.5 Running
13 0.5 Savoir-Faire
10 1.0 Sex Appeal
13 1.0 Shadowing
13 1.0 Shiphandling
13 1.0 Shipmaster
13 2.0 Starshipbuilding
13 1.0 Stealth
13 1.0 Streetwise
11 0.5 Throwing
13 0.5 Tournament Law (Boxing)
12 0.5 Vacc Suit
14 2.0 Wrestling
Points
------
100 Attributes
34 Advantages
-40 Disadvantages
-5 Quirks
61 Skills
150 Total
Notes
-----
Starting Wealth $15,000.00
Gear
Clothes for all weather and occasions $2000.00
Personal Basics $5.00
2 Steamer Trunks $50.00
9mm Autopistol (G:T 114) $400.00
Concealment Holster $200.00
Exposed Carry Holster $200.00
TL 12 Survival Watch (G:T FT 69) $75.00
Short Range Wrist Com (G:T 113) $55.00
TL 12 Personal Computer (G:T 113) $1000.00
Software Suite $5000.00
TL 12 Nightshades (G:T 113) $125.00
Boxing Gloves $100.00
Boxing Shoes $50.00
Cash on hand $5,740.00
Here's a sample GURPS Traveller character, and a Skiptracer to boot. I made him up as a player character, but I never got to play him. I'd say he's a fairly normal example of a GURPS Traveller character.
Name: Skip Stern
Race: Human - Solomani
Player:
Attributes
----------
10 ST
14 DX
14 IQ
11 HT
Description
-----------
Skip Stern is a tall, slender man of Solomani decent. He is 35 years old, six feet tall and weighs 140 pounds. He has brown eyes and has light brown hair.
As a youth, skip applied for and was accepted to the Merchant Academy. He was a good student and excelled during the annual "Summer Cruises." While at the Academy he joined the boxing team and earned a reputation as a good boxer.
After the Academy he was hired by Tukera Lines. He served three terms for Tukera without incident. He rotated between Engineering and Deck departments and was promoted quickly. At the end of his third term with Tukera he was a First Officer and had earned his Chief Engineer's License and Unlimited Master's License. Tukera offered him a promotion to Captain and command of a three thousand ton freighter if he would reenlist. Skip jumped at the offer.
Shortly after taking command of the freighter, Skip was in the Rylanor system, outbound to Regina with a load of computer parts. There was another Tukera ship inbound. After a series of miscalculations, the two ships collided. There was no loss of life, but their was tens of megacredits of damage to each ship. During the inquiry, it came out that the other captian was drunk on duty. He was also the son of a Baron who was a major Tukera stockholder. When the inquiry board made it's finding, Skip was handed the blame. He was discharged from Tukera without benefits. Further, his Unlimited Master's License was revoked.
For the last several months Skip has hung around the starports of the Spinward Main. He exchanges travel for working passage, but always under an assumed name. He has applied for and received his Skiptracer's License.
Advantages
----------
5 Alertness
15 Combat Reflexes
10 Legal Enforcement Powers (+2)
4 Strong Will
Disadvantages
-------------
-10 Bad Temper
-5 Code of Honor (Pirate Code)
-10 Duty (Obay and Uphold the Law)
-5 Obsession (Get License Back)
-5 Odious Personal Habit (Smokes)
-5 Reputation (Merchant Crews - Lost Shipmaster's License)
Quirks
------
-1 Cafeine Addict
-1 Hates to be called "Skipper" or "Skippy"
-1 Likes Vilani Opera
-1 Only Smokes Mora Rough Shag Filter 100's
-1 Thinks Brubek's is for Loosers
Skills
------
13 1.0 Administration
14 1.0 Area Knowledge (Spinward Main)
14 0.0 Arm or Wrist Lock
12 0.5 Armoury (Ship's Guns)
14 2.0 Astrogation
11 0.5 Astronomy
15 4.0 Boxing
10 1.0 Carousing
13 0.5 Computer Operation
12 0.5 Criminology
12 1.0 Detect Lies
12 0.5 Driving (Air Raft)
12 0.5 Electronics Operation (Comm)
13 1.0 Electronics Operation (Security Systems)
12 0.5 Electronics Operation (Sensors)
13 2.0 Engineer (Starship)
14 0.5 Fast-Draw (Pistol)
13 1.0 Fast-Talk
13 0.5 First Aid
12 0.5 Free Fall
13 1.0 Gambling
14 0.5 Gunner (Ship's Guns)
15 0.5 Guns (Light Auto)
15 0.5 Guns (Pistol)
13 2.0 History (Spinward Marches)
15 4.0 Hit Location (Boxing)
13 1.0 Interrogation
13 1.0 Intimidation
15 2.0 Jab
13 0.5 Jumping
14 0.0 Language (Galanglic)
13 2.0 Law
13 2.0 Literature (Vilani Opera)
13 1.0 Lockpicking
13 1.0 Mechanic (Fusion Plant)
13 1.0 Mechanic (Jump Drive)
13 1.0 Mechanic (Manuver Drive)
13 0.5 Motorcycle
14 2.0 Piloting (Starship)
14 4.0 Reposte
15 2.0 Roundhouse Punch
8 0.5 Running
13 0.5 Savoir-Faire
10 1.0 Sex Appeal
13 1.0 Shadowing
13 1.0 Shiphandling
13 1.0 Shipmaster
13 2.0 Starshipbuilding
13 1.0 Stealth
13 1.0 Streetwise
11 0.5 Throwing
13 0.5 Tournament Law (Boxing)
12 0.5 Vacc Suit
14 2.0 Wrestling
Points
------
100 Attributes
34 Advantages
-40 Disadvantages
-5 Quirks
61 Skills
150 Total
Notes
-----
Starting Wealth $15,000.00
Gear
Clothes for all weather and occasions $2000.00
Personal Basics $5.00
2 Steamer Trunks $50.00
9mm Autopistol (G:T 114) $400.00
Concealment Holster $200.00
Exposed Carry Holster $200.00
TL 12 Survival Watch (G:T FT 69) $75.00
Short Range Wrist Com (G:T 113) $55.00
TL 12 Personal Computer (G:T 113) $1000.00
Software Suite $5000.00
TL 12 Nightshades (G:T 113) $125.00
Boxing Gloves $100.00
Boxing Shoes $50.00
Cash on hand $5,740.00
Cptn. Collision Course
SOC-5
Six foot, 140 and he's a BOXER? Talk about reach with nothing on it.
On a module note, if you're ever looking for really good plot lines for Megacorp/troubleshooting style adventures, try Shadowrun - ignoring the system and millieu, these are some of the best adventures i've ever read, esp. those by Tom Dowd (Harlequin etc).
Swap the magic for Tech, and you're away...
OK, let's get this off the ground. Every one who would like to play in a Traveller PBEM game please send a mesage to:
phydaux@wmtk.com
Once we get everyone abord, then we'll work out things like Rules Set and Protocal.
Thanks,
phy
phydaux@wmtk.com
Once we get everyone abord, then we'll work out things like Rules Set and Protocal.
Thanks,
phy
fire me an e-mail at
phydaux@wmtk.com
So far 2 others have said they will play. We'll do the whols thing via e-mail, and I'll update the game as we play in digest-form on my web site.
phydaux@wmtk.com
So far 2 others have said they will play. We'll do the whols thing via e-mail, and I'll update the game as we play in digest-form on my web site.
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