My campaign's players have asked for a new setting, a human colony on a
remote hostile desert world in a universe with a comparatively low techno-
logy level, and this time they want Mongoose Traveller as the only system
(for our previous settings we used a mix of Traveller versions and BRP).
With the Babylon 5 setting for Mongoose Traveller now available, and the
various supplements for the Babylon 5 RPG also available as PDFs at a redu-
ced price, I decided to start with the Babylon 5 universe as the setting's
foundation.
Therefore the humans' interstellar nation will be the Solar Alliance, an Earth
Alliance with some changes in its history (e.g. no Minbari War) and a lower
technology level (about TL 9 / 10).
For the known alien species I habe chosen the Narn (friendly neighbours) and
imported the Droyne (mysterious and dangerous) from the OTU, still undisco-
vered neighbours of the new colony will be the insectoid Gaim and the carrion
eating Pakmara - all species slightly changed, with different names and their
serial numbers filed off.
The setting's starships will use Mongoose Traveller's optional hyperdrive and
fission reactors, gravitics technology will be still experimental, very rare and
very expensive.
As for the other equipment, I am waiting for Mongoose's Central Supply Ca-
talogue and vehicle design system before I decide what exactly to use, but
some stuff from Babylon 5 will doubtless be integrated, too.
While waiting I have designed the planet itself and the planetary system, and
for this I used GURPS Space 4e, because with only one planet as the cam-
paign's focus I prefer to have more details (e.g. length of year and day, etc.)
then Traveller's world building system currently does offer.
Of course, I have also started to draw some maps of the planet and of its im-
portant regions.
Other material used for this setting includes various (now re-designed) star-
ships from third party publishers like Spica and dbg, creatures from JBE and
from Samardan's alien design supplement, and (slightly modified) careers from
Spica's career book - and I have no doubt that these and other third party
publishers will continue to provide vital input for the setting and campaign.
With all that background in place and steadily growing (I am at 25 pages of
setting description now), I am now working on the story of the colony itself:
A rich tycoon planning to become immortal by founding the colony farthest
from Earth, a colony ship miscalculating its astrogation and forced to make
an emergeny landing (ideas stolen from MJD's One Crowded Hour), a tycoon
dying of a heart attack during this touchdown, heirs who sue each other
over the inheritance and refuse to support the colony any longer, therefore
supply ships that never come ... you get the idea: Life will be miserable for
the player characters.
In fact, I am working on a list of all the nasty things that can (and doubtless
will) happen to colonists in such a situation.
Well, this is where I am right now. I am not yet sure where exactly I will go
with this setting, but I think it is an example of what can be done with Mon-
goose Traveller's available material.
remote hostile desert world in a universe with a comparatively low techno-
logy level, and this time they want Mongoose Traveller as the only system
(for our previous settings we used a mix of Traveller versions and BRP).
With the Babylon 5 setting for Mongoose Traveller now available, and the
various supplements for the Babylon 5 RPG also available as PDFs at a redu-
ced price, I decided to start with the Babylon 5 universe as the setting's
foundation.
Therefore the humans' interstellar nation will be the Solar Alliance, an Earth
Alliance with some changes in its history (e.g. no Minbari War) and a lower
technology level (about TL 9 / 10).
For the known alien species I habe chosen the Narn (friendly neighbours) and
imported the Droyne (mysterious and dangerous) from the OTU, still undisco-
vered neighbours of the new colony will be the insectoid Gaim and the carrion
eating Pakmara - all species slightly changed, with different names and their
serial numbers filed off.
The setting's starships will use Mongoose Traveller's optional hyperdrive and
fission reactors, gravitics technology will be still experimental, very rare and
very expensive.
As for the other equipment, I am waiting for Mongoose's Central Supply Ca-
talogue and vehicle design system before I decide what exactly to use, but
some stuff from Babylon 5 will doubtless be integrated, too.
While waiting I have designed the planet itself and the planetary system, and
for this I used GURPS Space 4e, because with only one planet as the cam-
paign's focus I prefer to have more details (e.g. length of year and day, etc.)
then Traveller's world building system currently does offer.
Of course, I have also started to draw some maps of the planet and of its im-
portant regions.
Other material used for this setting includes various (now re-designed) star-
ships from third party publishers like Spica and dbg, creatures from JBE and
from Samardan's alien design supplement, and (slightly modified) careers from
Spica's career book - and I have no doubt that these and other third party
publishers will continue to provide vital input for the setting and campaign.
With all that background in place and steadily growing (I am at 25 pages of
setting description now), I am now working on the story of the colony itself:
A rich tycoon planning to become immortal by founding the colony farthest
from Earth, a colony ship miscalculating its astrogation and forced to make
an emergeny landing (ideas stolen from MJD's One Crowded Hour), a tycoon
dying of a heart attack during this touchdown, heirs who sue each other
over the inheritance and refuse to support the colony any longer, therefore
supply ships that never come ... you get the idea: Life will be miserable for
the player characters.
In fact, I am working on a list of all the nasty things that can (and doubtless
will) happen to colonists in such a situation.
Well, this is where I am right now. I am not yet sure where exactly I will go
with this setting, but I think it is an example of what can be done with Mon-
goose Traveller's available material.
