T5 Adventure Arc

[jfetters]

Originally posted by robject:
Sure, lack of purpose fits.

I didn't realize the Traveller background was all that static. Although, I do recall that timeline in MegaTraveller. Is that what you mean?

I think what I mean is that, with the exception of the Fifth Frontier War, nothing happened in the Imperium that made people sit up and take notice.

Life started in 1105, then there was a war. Then in 1116 (fast-forwarded to from 1112), the Emperor is assassinated.

The Rebellion sourcebook is released, time advances to 1117, faction borders are defined, then nothing happens for years (in real world time) until Hard Times. You hear about skirmishes via TAS, but never are in the thick of things. (It is why Arrival:Vengeance was probably the best MT folio published; players could travel in a big-ass ship, meet the factions and participate in a defining moment of the story.)

Then TNE comes out, things are happening all over the place (but too slow, IMO).

 

[jfetters]

Originally posted by robject:
And I'm sort of leaning in that direction. Publish perfect-bound short adventures in LBB format. Or maybe just normal format. The first one is the shortest, so throw in the referee's screen to bulk it up. Then publish them together (probably with errata fixes, eh?).

Yeah, I was thinking that if you could get the into adventure in the rules set, that would be the way to go, then publish the rest as a separate volume. Perhaps being included in "Deluxe" T5.

 

[robject]

Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by robject:
And I'm sort of leaning in that direction. Publish perfect-bound short adventures in LBB format. Or maybe just normal format. The first one is the shortest, so throw in the referee's screen to bulk it up. Then publish them together (probably with errata fixes, eh?).

Yeah, I was thinking that if you could get the intro adventure in the rules set, that would be the way to go, then publish the rest as a separate volume. Perhaps being included in "Deluxe" T5.

</font>[/QUOTE]It worked for The Traveller Book, would be nice if it could work for T5...

Thanks Jim, your brainstorming is helping me think about the problems and possibilities.

 

[robject]

Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by robject:
Sure, lack of purpose fits.

I didn't realize the Traveller background was all that static. Although, I do recall that timeline in MegaTraveller. Is that what you mean?

I think what I mean is that, with the exception of the Fifth Frontier War, nothing happened in the Imperium that made people sit up and take notice.

Life started in 1105, then there was a war. Then in 1116 (fast-forwarded to from 1112), the Emperor is assassinated.

The Rebellion sourcebook is released, time advances to 1117, faction borders are defined, then nothing happens for years (in real world time) until Hard Times. You hear about skirmishes via TAS, but never are in the thick of things. (It is why Arrival:Vengeance was probably the best MT folio published; players could travel in a big-ass ship, meet the factions and participate in a defining moment of the story.)

Then TNE comes out, things are happening all over the place (but too slow, IMO). </font>[/QUOTE]I see what you mean. But I imagine there is all kinds of stuff that's going on in the interim... of course, all that is up to the referee, isn't it?

Sounds like what you would like to see is more excitement. More adventures around exciting and significant themes? More tradewars, more invasions, more insurrections, more political scheming, more disasters?

 

[jfetters]

Originally posted by robject:
If they're separate, then each has to have its own special gimmick or draw.

For example, one has a special person: an alien, patron, or alien patron, perhaps? One has a special place -- probably some conveniently located spot for a home base. And one has a special thing -- maybe a starship, but maybe some relatively unobtainably high-quality equipment.

Yeah - and this also opens the possibility of things being modular, meaning that not only can the adventures have "breadcrumbs" that can lead into the next chapter, but the rewards could also augment each other.

This is a pretty gross example here, but in the intro adventure, the party is hired on to a fairly basic ship. The "big reward" of the first full adventure would be some kind of an upgrade to the ship.

Alternately, if the scenarios are to be linked, the gimmick is a key of some sort - valuable in its own right, but when used in concert with the other "big rewards" of the other chapters, delivers something really cool by the end. (This of course would put the onus on the writer to make the intermediate chapters to be engaging so that people wouldn't skip to the end. )

Thanks Jim, your brainstorming is helping me think about the problems and possibilities.

You are quite welcome. This is very engaging, and I like breaking stories.

 

[robject]

Hey, nice ideas. Yes, the gimmicks ought to complement one another and be useful in the other adventures.

I don't suppose the adventures can be order independent? (Just a thought -- I've never seen it done before)

 

[jfetters]

Originally posted by robject:
I see what you mean. But I imagine there is all kinds of stuff that's going on in the interim... of course, all that is up to the referee, isn't it?

Sounds like what you would like to see is more excitement. More adventures around exciting and significant themes? More tradewars, more invasions, more insurrections, more political scheming, more disasters?

Yep. You are right on about refs taking matters into their own hands and creating interesting things for their players.

But, speaking as a consumer here, I don't have time to come up with a full blown storyline for an adventure (at least at this point in my life - hopefully this will improve as the kids grow up), so when I get something "out of the box" I want to know that a) the time spent playing/refereeing was worth it and b) that the players come away having grown, either by understanding their universe better or changing it somehow.

I mean, I may be a different case in that I am a Traveller fan, I follow the "OTU" events and would like to experience them in a game form (pulling out Arrival: Vengeance here again as a good example - meeting Strephon, Norris and hearing his Giyachii address). But trying to put myself in a potential new players shoes, I would think that he/she would be reading all this interesting stuff about and empire and nobles and the navy, then they get to an intro adventure where they are maneuvering through a bureaucracy. I'd be kinda bored.

If I spent $15 for a new RPG (or whatever the going price is these days) I would want a dynamic, exciting background with an adventure included that directly dealt with the theme of the milieu.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Jim, robject, though I don't often like "gimmicks", they have their place. And, what you are talking about is basically the same thing:
there are three "independent" adventures, with some kind of key resolution at the end. Each ending adds to the other endings to lead to the big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And, if the "key" in each adventure is something the characters can keep and benefit from (patron, ship, unobtainium, etc.), then it can drive their next adventure, as well.

CadLad, I like your thread, too.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

To expand... I think the three adventures would link to, but not necessarily derive from, the intro adventure. Then, you could publish a fourth adventure that uses all three keys (otherwise, you can't make all three order independent). If you publish the first 3 LBB-style, then you put the fourth in the big HB version, and offer a discount to those who purchased all three of the LBBs.

 

[Michael Schulz]

I guess what I would like to see in the first group of adventures would be something that got the players up to speed with the big, adventure spawning, events and factions of the focused setting. But more importantly, I would want a set of adventures that really fleshed out two or three hubs for future adventures.

In other words, I would want these adventures to give me a couple of decently detailed settings and characters to use in future adventures along with enough dramatic background info to inspire a load of other ones.

Who are the three groups trying to influence the weak Sector Duke and what do they want?

The fringe world that the PCs are from was a posession of a noble house that had close ties to the new Duke's mother...what happens now that he is favoring that Noble House's mortal enemies?

Can a weak Sector Duke defend the edges of the Imperium from Aslan/Vargr/Pirate/K'Kree encroachment?

How will the local representative of a major Mega-Corps elevation to the title of count effect the ongoing tradewars between a cluster of fringe worlds?

Who will be the Sector Duke's proxy at the Imperial court/Moot and whose intrests will they represent?

To me, a good set of intro adventures wouldn't just be a rollicking good time, but would set the stage for a pleothora of new adventures in a semi-realized setting.

That said, the grab bag provided in this thread will be very useful at the last minute...

 

[robject]

Yes, sir.

 

[Michael Schulz]

Originally posted by robject:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jim Fetters:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by robject:
And I'm sort of leaning in that direction. Publish perfect-bound short adventures in LBB format. Or maybe just normal format. The first one is the shortest, so throw in the referee's screen to bulk it up. Then publish them together (probably with errata fixes, eh?).

Yeah, I was thinking that if you could get the intro adventure in the rules set, that would be the way to go, then publish the rest as a separate volume. Perhaps being included in "Deluxe" T5.

</font>[/QUOTE]It worked for The Traveller Book, would be nice if it could work for T5...

Thanks Jim, your brainstorming is helping me think about the problems and possibilities. </font>[/QUOTE]Not to be a wet blanket on all the brainstorming action, but what would the price be for a LBB adventure these days? General inflation aside, hasn't gotten substantially more expensive to publish stuff these days, especially with need for art, slick design, and whatnot. Wasn't that the rationale for the anthology concept that dominated TNE and T4?

What would you all be willing to pay for a dead tree set of introductory adventures and, probably or more importance, what do you expect a new player to be willing to pay?

 

[parmasson]

By cad lad

hasn't gotten substantially more expensive to publish stuff these days

Publish pdf style formatted so you can print them out and staple them together into LBB format. With a minimum of fuss

Stand alone adventures are nice but make sure that some of the NPCs are seen in more than one adventure. I find this lets the players use shortcuts.
The Informant
The Illegal Weapons Guy
The Goods Fence
The Local Police Commander
The Assistant Starport Administrator
The Hot Dog Guy

[edit] What I mean is the “gimmick” can be that the players become immersed in the workings of a few detailed star systems rather than a massive Imperium. If a star system has two habitable worlds each controlled by a different authority with squabbling over moons and gas giant rights with the Imperium trying to keep the peace.

The universe does not have to change for the players to feel that they have had an effect. My Ine Givar players whooped and hollered at their successful bombing of a hydrogen storage tank at the local starport.

 

[jfetters]

Originally posted by Cad Lad:
Not to be a wet blanket on all the brainstorming action, but what would the price be for a LBB adventure these days? General inflation aside, hasn't gotten substantially more expensive to publish stuff these days, especially with need for art, slick design, and whatnot. Wasn't that the rationale for the anthology concept that dominated TNE and T4?

What would you all be willing to pay for a dead tree set of introductory adventures and, probably or more importance, what do you expect a new player to be willing to pay?

Well, now this is the end of the business that I don't pretend to understand at all.

The MT/TNE folios went for about $7-8. Staple bound for $12, regular $16 (in 1995 dollars). Figure at least a couple of dollars increase, so $10 for a folio (or equivalent), $20 for a traditional bound booklet.

I don't have a problem with those numbers. I don't know about new players (or my wife

).

 

[aramis]

Well, lets compare some prices I've seen at Boscos (www.boscos.com, but my data is from the shelves)

32pp 5x8 ~50# cover, 20# interiors, monocrome saddle stapled: $6.95 (KAMB, NB)

64pp 5x8 saddle, similar cover and interiors, color cover, perfect: $9.95 (Battle Cattle?)

128pp 5x8 perfect, 80# covers, 25# gloss interiors: $14.95 (Typical low-copy manga!)

200pp 5x8 perfect, 80# matte plastic coated color cover, mixed monochrome and color interior: $24.95 (L5R LARP)

 

[robject]

Yow, that's pretty affordably cheap.

An article on rpg.net suggests that $15 or so is the average price where the average buyer would buy a product without worrying over the cost. I.E. its presentation trumps budgetary concerns completely.

An "LBB"-style short adventure might run 32 to 48 pages? The lower page limit for perfect binding is 3/16"... so I suppose an "LBB" would have to be at least 64 pages long, which sort of leans me toward an adventure-pack format.

 

[daltoncalford]

Hi Guys,
I just saw this thread and I have been developing a very extensive adventure/meta plot setting for our group and for the new online gaming project.

This adventure is designed for players who do not know traveller and know nothing about roleplaying in general.
--------------------------------------

Referees Synopses

Let your players either choose pre-generated characters or build their own. The characters can have any background from any form of sci-fi setting. It does not matter, all that matters is the players 'vision' of what the character is like.
This adventure begins thousands of years in the future, far beyond anything their characters would be familiar with, so don't worry about what the player do not know, they will learn it in the game.

Game setting
The adventure takes place on a 800 ton smugglers/pirate ship while it is docked to a backwater highport.

The players start off by being rudely awakened from cold-sleep and are suffering from dump shock. The players are a small group of over 1000 individuals who are all suffering the same effects.
The players expected to wake up in very different circumstances. Some where simple travellers using cheap cold-sleep transportation, while others where med-sleep patients or even military cold-watch troops.
The players are in a strange place, surrounded by strangers who are crying, screaming, sobbing and in some cases, dying or dead.
The players have woken up on a body-parts ship as cargo. Some of the other passengers have been partially harvested and are dying due to missing organs, while others are dying due to improper medical care during awakening.
The players don't know anything about the body-part slave trade, or how lucky they are that they were dumped from cold sleep instead of waking up as they are being harvested.

The ship has claxons going off with emergency lighting combined with shouting, screaming and gun shots being heard outside of the hold.

The smugglers docked at the station, started shore leave/trading when the station was attacked by a alien group (I will leave those details for my play group since they are not standard traveller cannon).

As the current invasion mode is mop-up, there is not much resistance left on the station. The smuggler ship was on minimal crew and where taken out in the first wave. The players find themselves in a standard dungeon crawl environment, (the easiest for new players) faced with both ethical and physical problems.

This introduces the players to the game and gets them involved without destroying their preconceived sci-fi notions.

The further adventures involves them dealing with a small time smuggling ring, the alien group who invaded the station and the eventual reawakening of a civilization that tries to impose it's vision of life on the rest of the universe. All the while the players are trying just to get by, by any means possible.

-------------------------------------

There, I was able to collapse about 100 pages of notes into a couple of paragraphs.

What do you think?

best regards

Dalton

 

[Berg]

I just saw this thread and I have been developing a very extensive adventure/meta plot setting for our group and for the new online gaming project.

What online project do you speak of sir

?

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Originally posted by robject:
The lower page limit for perfect binding is 3/16"...

I would still prefer the stapled LBB design - I think it's sturdier than many of the perfect-bound books I have. Definitely more resistant ot heat and humidity. These might sit in my car in the summer, or I might take them to the desert on a deployment....

 

[daltoncalford]

Originally posted by Berg:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I just saw this thread and I have been developing a very extensive adventure/meta plot setting for our group and for the new online gaming project.

What online project do you speak of sir

? </font>[/QUOTE]I have a local traveller gaming group, and, due to the nature of the company I work for, some friends from other places in Canada who want to play with us once they visited and saw what the games were like.

So, I started with grip, which was very limited and needed some updating due to unresolved bug issues. I then purchased Kloogeworks and found it was very much aimed at the D20 market, and that did not cater to our group. I finally found Screenmonkey by NBOS. Screenmonkey was the perfect fit of cost/features/customizability while not killing me with extra work.
I then started putting our house gaming rules into handout formats, but, others wanted a more general approach to the rules, so I started creating a series of LBB's for the gaming system - that is about 10% done.

So, to answer your questions, the online gaming system is based on a House Edition of the Traveller Rules, based on a non-cannon universe, created for our extended gaming group.

The maps are heavily altered portions of artwork from world works games. I already have had some communication from Denny to allow the extensive kitbashing I am working on.
The character icons are based upon some artwork I have accumulated over the years.
The target date for my completion of the work is late February, although that may be delayed as I am hoping that trasparent miniatures will be released on the next patch cycle for Screenmonkey.

I am hoping to get alot down during the holidays as I am taking a few weeks of downtime.

I have some friends from our gaming groups as well as some people from these forums who are helping along with the work.

Hope that answers your questions.

Dalton