Shadow traveller?

[The Thing]

I have a friend who's into Shadowrun, and as some of you may have guessed I'm into traveller.

This confluence of events has lead to the possibility of trying to crossbreed the two and create "Shadow Traveller" which would be a combination.

So far I've been thinking about having the traveller timeline going up to about the second imperium, when some bright boyz in a lab tried to break the jump-6 barrier and instead broke a barrier that seperated this universe from one in which a form of energy that could only be described as "magic" existed.

The result was that magic flooded the known galaxy, humans began evolving into meta-humans, as orcs, trolls, drawves and elves are known in shadowrun and the second imperium collapsed.

The setting would be in the third imperium, whic is similar to the traveller 3I except for the existance of magic and cybernetics, creating a shadow traveller setting.

Jump and communications still works the same, no magic can speed jump ships up or communicate faster than in the normal traveller universe.

So I wonderred if anyone else had tried this and how it worked out. I was thinking that vargr might get into magic a lot, the zhoads oppose it as it empowers the proles and psionics can't use it. The k'kree won't hear of it and regard magic users as on par with carnivores.

Aslan are good at it, the poor hivers got the shaft again but make up for their ineptitude at magic and psionics by being the leaders in cybernetics to augment their underevolved bodies.

I think something like this could work and just wondered if anyone had tried it yet.

 

[RandyT0001]

The result was that magic flooded the known galaxy, humans began evolving into meta-humans, as orcs, trolls, drawves and elves are known in shadowrun and the second imperium collapsed.

The setting would be in the third imperium, whic is similar to the traveller 3I except for the existance of magic and cybernetics, creating a shadow traveller setting.

RALPH!
Now ya'll can see why I keep a trash can by the computer desk. Hey, it's your game, do what you want to.

 

[Merxiless]

I'd personally never do this. I hated shadowrun with a passion.

But yep, your game, play it how you like.

 

[veltyen]

I dunno what the complaints are for.

I though traveller HAD magic, and orks (vargr) and elves (darrian/daryen(sp?))

So unless you're running a no-psi, no-walking suits (aka human with a false moustache) version of traveller....

I've even played in traveller games that had a certain cyberpunkish feel without deviating from the known universe/known rules.

The concept sounds fine. You would need to be happy with what thematic elements you brought in, to get the feel right you would want to set any games in the slice of time just after your pseudo-awakening moment.

...and finally the ultimate test, set the jump drive to go.
SCRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Shit. I think we just broke the universe.

 

[deniable]

2300?

Have you considered doing this with 2300? It went all Cyberpunky towards the end and may make a better fit.

 

[Spinward Scout]

If you are using T20, you'll probably want to hit your FLGS and take a look at d20 Modern and SpyCraft 2.0. D20 Modern has a lot of the D&D type Races and Magic in a um... 'modern' setting. It just takes converting them to the T20 rules. Digital Burn would be another good resource for the cybertech - if you can find a copy.

If you are using another version of Traveller, I'm not sure what resources you could use.

The races could easily be Traveller races. Suerrat could be Dwarves, Darriens or Casilldans (sp?) could be Elves, Ithklur (sp?) could be Trolls, Droyne have been described as Gargoyle-like in numerous publications (unless you want to make them more reptillian), k'Kree are obviously Centaurs, etc... You'll just have 'extra' races you'd have to justify. Unless you want to just not include them.

Me personally, I'd use Psionics instead of Magic, since you can make them do similar things. Just treat Psionics AS Magic. But then you have to justify the Zhodani civilization.

It all can be done and sounds like a neat idea, too!

 

[navywarlord]

While I have never personnally played Shadowrun, I have heard of it and its premise.... The combination with Traveller sounds like an interesting one...

Give it a try and let us know how it plays out....

 

[Gadrin]

I dunno what the complaints are for.

I though traveller HAD magic, and orks (vargr) and elves (darrian/daryen(sp?))

So unless you're running a no-psi, no-walking suits (aka human with a false moustache)
version of traveller....

I've even played in traveller games that had a certain cyberpunkish feel without deviating
from the known universe/known rules.

The concept sounds fine. You would need to be happy with what thematic elements you
brought in, to get the feel right you would want to set any games in the slice of time
just after your pseudo-awakening moment.

yeah, subtle hooks to grab the D&D crowds at the time ?

JTAS #22 has a section on computer implants so that
Transhuman Feel for Virtual Interface Implants aren't too far removed
from the setting.

BITS offers Serabi Genetics in one of its books. Their office is
just crawling with unusual critters, some possessed of a fairly high
intelligence.

 

[selunatic2397]

I use Shadowrun rules for my one and only shadowrun fan, and have for quite some time...

I made it clear to him that traveller has no magic and he could use psionics only if he found one of the mythical institutes for training.

He liked it fine...Lt. Grisnahk, chinese ork in the Imperial Navy!

I just kept using CT rules in my head, and halved his skill levels to get a fast and dirty mental conversion to CT for what he was trying to pull off.

We both got confused a lot, but it did keep him happy and we had fun.

It is only a once in every 3 month thing, and only when it's just a 2 man game.

 

[carlparl]

I was working on a Shadowrun campaign a couple of years ago, and started looking over my Traveller books for adventure ideas. That's when I realized that the two systems are not so different that merging them is impossible. So I started working on a conversion system, which got put on hold when life got busy (and I started working on creating a Traveller game within Second Life). But I might go back to it soon.

Simply put, my intention was to use Shadowrun to play a near future campaign in and around the Sol System. There wasn't really too much I had to bring into it from Traveller. NPCs could be ported over with simple conversions for the most part, much of the equipment could be approximated with existing Shadowrun equipment, and the Traveller ships were going to be brought in as-is.

As for races and magic, I hadn't totally decided on which route to take. Either it would be in the Traveller universe, in which case magic would be psi, and the races would be aliens encountered along the way. Or it would be in the Shadowrun universe, and the races would spread out from Earth, taking their magic with them. That still remains to be seen.

Here's the web page I put up for it: http://www.starbeast.net/Carl/traveller.htm

 

[The Thing]

Well, as to using magic in the traveller universe, a standard ploy might be to claim it's actually "super psionic energy" of some sort or claim that a breach in the barriers between this and another universe allowed it in.

I could see something like this being worked into a variant traveller universe:
One of gamp's kids created a rift in the universe that let magic energy into this universe, and began using it.

Gramps, being a pompous, stodgy, arrogant old fart didn't like this here magic stuff, partially because he didn't discover it himself and told his progeny to stop using it.

The offspring, being less pompous than gramps, told him to get bent and the great war started. So gramps managed to wipe out all his progeny and, without batting an eye, several hundred billion or so innocent bystanders, then retreated to his pocket universe where he could literally be god almighty. (What an ego....)

Anyway, maybe some archaeologist goes poking aroung some ancient site, finds a strange device that looks a like an ancient teleport portal, only more complex, pokes it in the right place and ZAP! Te portal to the other plane opens up and magic flow into this universe again, sometime perhaps at the end of the second imperium or even CAUSING the end of the 2I.

it could work, as long as no one tells marc miller so he doesn;t pop an artery....:rofl: