Setting up a pocket empires campaign

[Brandon C]

Starting TL 10 means only J1 is allowed, and I don't expect it to raise in the scope of the game (unless you want to make it for long turns, as 5 years or so). maybe just raising to 11 (and so allowing for J2) could make it more interesting.

I was unclear. 10 is average for all four subsectors, not the maximum. In particular, one empire is TL 15, it's main rival 13, and two other major powers 12. Those four pocket empires will still only account for around 25% of the worlds.

Keeping all the player on the same race (let's say humans, to make it more traveller like) avoids races adevantages/disadvantages.

Vargr are probably best suited for use with a human party. Not sure about any of the other races mentioned so far.

The length of a turn (critical, as it decides what kind of game do you intend to play)

The campaign will be run face to face at a table or in an online chat. No play-by-post. Turns are normal length for MgT.

The level of detial of the systems: all systems are a single "zone" (as in FFW/TCS), several zones in a system (as in I:E), detailed systems and operational movement on it (good luck in this case).

Bare bones stats to start with. As a system is visited for the first time, I plan to ue the extended system generation rules from MG and possibly Grand Census and Grand Survey.

How to conduct ground combat, as AFAIK there's not a good one in traveller, for such a strategic game.

I'll use normal rules, although I'm not a miniatures guy.

Ship construction and repair capacity and times

Standard rules, although this is unlikely to affect the PCs.

And, BTW, I could be interested on playing it.

Send me a PM so I can remember

 

[Brandon C]

you going to run it here on the boards?

Only if we have a chatroom I haven't discovered.

 

[Brandon C]

2 ktons is a reasonable ship for players to be command crew of.

I'd let each player run two characters: one member of the command or bridge crew and one member of the marines, small craft crew, or off-ship specialist. This means each player can take part in space and ground operations without the command crew beaming down

 

[Spartan159]

I'd let each player run two characters: one member of the command or bridge crew and one member of the marines, small craft crew, or off-ship specialist. This means each player can take part in space and ground operations without the command crew beaming down

Do we get to make new red shirt characters each week? Besides that, how can the captain/featured officer be all heroic for the space maiden of the week?

 

[McPerth]

Excuse me, but I'm not sure I understood you. Are you talking about a strategical camapign for the power struggle among those various Pocket Empires (as the Islands Campaings in CT:TCS) or a RPG capaign bases there?

When I reas a Pocket Empires campaing, I understood the former, but your answwers seem to point to the latter...

 

[Brandon C]

Excuse me, but I'm not sure I understood you. Are you talking about a strategical camapign for the power struggle among those various Pocket Empires (as the Islands Campaings in CT:TCS) or a RPG capaign bases there?.

RPG campaign. There is some high-level stuff I want to work out although it is unlikely to directly affect the PCs.

 

[McPerth]

RPG campaign. There is some high-level stuff I want to work out although it is unlikely to directly affect the PCs.

Then I fully missunderstood you, as you would have already guessed from my own posts.

I'm afraid then I have to decline, as time zone differences (6-8 hours with US) would make difficult to agree for chat times.

 

[Whipsnade]

RPG campaign. There is some high-level stuff I want to work out although it is unlikely to directly affect the PCs.

With regards to the high level stuff, may I suggest you look at the Faction rules from Stars Without Number? Those rules allow you to "game" the actions of and interactions between factions ranging in size from interstellar polities to single ship traders with an eye towards creating campaign hooks and adventure seeds.

I've been using the rules off and on over the last year to put together a decade's worth of "history" for the Lunion-Glisten-District 268-Sword Worlds "Four Corners".

 

[Brandon C]

With regards to the high level stuff, may I suggest you look at the Faction rules from Stars Without Number? Those rules allow you to "game" the actions of and interactions between factions ranging in size from interstellar polities to single ship traders with an eye towards creating campaign hooks and adventure seeds.

I'll take a look.

 

[Brandon C]

As for the details of systems, I forgot a very useful resource I have -- all four of the GURPS space atlases, with around 150 systems covered. Sure, I'll have to do some tweaking, but it's a lot less work than starting from scratch.

 

[creativehum]

With regards to the high level stuff, may I suggest you look at the Faction rules from Stars Without Number? Those rules allow you to "game" the actions of and interactions between factions ranging in size from interstellar polities to single ship traders with an eye towards creating campaign hooks and adventure seeds.

I've been using the rules off and on over the last year to put together a decade's worth of "history" for the Lunion-Glisten-District 268-Sword Worlds "Four Corners".

What I love about Kevin Crawford's approach in Stars Without Numbers (and Vincent Baker's Fronts from Apocalypse World) is that they take the world/political/background stuff and turn it into concrete material the PCs can interact with and material that can push against the PCs. The rules are specific in application for RPG play. The focus is always making things interesting for the PCs and focusing all the high-level and setting fluff into material useful at an RPG table for an evening of play.

As Whipsnade says, Factions especially have a sense of "play"--with these forces rising and falling in power back and forth through the campaign.

 

[flykiller]

I am planning on starting a pocket empires campaign

ever launch your game?

 

[Imperium2016]

This just sounds so awesome!!!

 

[Brandon C]

ever launch your game?

No, not yet. I finally got around to doing the basic work on the worlds for the campaigns (heavily modified Rhylanor and Vilis subsectors), which is about 90% done.

I capped populations at 8 and used the Hard Science options in MgT1e to modify existing data. Also, based on an idea from Our Absent Friend Hans, I split each world's physical and cultural data and put the highest populations on the most habitable worlds. Since there is no 3I to plop down starports wherever, starport class was changed and based on population. Also, TLs were adjusted to bring low TL worlds up to something close to the main world of each pocket empire (except for certain government types that would seek to suppress the technology of other worlds in its empire out of a desire for power, revenge, etc.).

There are eight empires, ranging from 3 to 12 worlds (sizes are 12, 9, 9, 7, 7, 6, 4 and 3 worlds).

The largest has 3 Pop 8 worlds and 9 at Pop 4 or less, but has the highest TL.

The smallest is a bit isolated from everyone else and independent only because it's large neighbour has more powerful enemies to deal with.

 

[Brandon C]

Here is a little more information on what I have so far:

Human empire #1
# worlds: 13
Max TL: 15
Population: 600 million

Human empire #2
# worlds: 7
Max: TL: 11
Population: 700 million

Human empire #3
# worlds: 6
Max: TL: 13
Population: 405 million

Human empire #4
# worlds: 9
Max: TL: 10
Population: 1.205 billion

K'kree empire
# worlds: 4*
Max: TL: 11
Population: 700 million*

* does not count worlds outside the two primary subsectors

Vargr "empire"
# worlds: 9
Max: TL: 12
Population: 651 million

Aslan empire
# worlds: 7
Max: TL: 12
Population: 534 million

Droyne "empire"
# worlds: 3
Max: TL: 10 (?)
Population: 110 million (?)
Note: much is unknown about these three systems to the other empires

 

[Brandon C]

In case anyone is interested ...

After a few months of trying to shape Traveller into what I wanted with a lot of changes, I decided to take an easier approach and go with the current version of 2300AD with minor changes.

Thanks again to everyone who made comments and gave suggestions.

 

[Ulsyus]

The data for each system will be randomly generated. However, mainworld data will be divided into physical (size, hydrographics, atmosphere) and social (population, government, law level). Social data will be paired with each world based on highest population going to the most habitable world. After this is done, tech level and starport are determined.

Late reply, I know, but had you thought about purposely designing at least a few of the worlds and systems in each of your empires, so that you could ensure that they had a core that could reasonably support a multi-system polity?

 

[Brandon C]

Late reply, I know, but had you thought about purposely designing at least a few of the worlds and systems in each of your empires, so that you could ensure that they had a core that could reasonably support a multi-system polity?

Yes, I was doing quite a bit of tweaking to the two or three main (highest population) systems in each polity. The more sparsely inhabited worlds can have more randomness.

 

[Ulsyus]

Yes, I was doing quite a bit of tweaking to the two or three main (highest population) systems in each polity. The more sparsely inhabited worlds can have more randomness.

Another thing to consider is what the interstellar polities actually are. If they're a loose confederation of independent planets, or a state that claims just the space between the planets, then the myriad of law levels and government types on different planets is fair enough.

If one or more of them were more cohesive states, then you could see reduction in the variation of government types. This would especially be the case if the rule of the state extended down the gravity well and included all the planets as well as space.