The "Oh No!" Bag

[Zutroi]

IMTU, no traveller is going to be without a small (~2 liter) fanny-pack/haversack filled with a few essential items - "just in case everything goes neopear-shaped."

What's in it? Things are probably attached to the belt/strap as well, as long as it doesn't get too wild.

I'll start with a multi-tool (Leatherman or Gerber type) on the strap... next?

 

[hdan]

Maybe a few hypos of medical drugs, a lighter (laser or chemical depending on TL), your ID and some credits. At higher TLs, you might have a small data storage device (think a thumb drive) and some sort of communications device (cell phone equivalent).

 

[far-trader]

A towel.

 

[Sturn]

Duct tape!

TL 12 duct tape would be even better, chemically creating itself flat or in strands from a small container. Tie someone up, rope to climb out of a window, strap something onto your air/raft, set up a trap, etc, etc, etc.

Survival-minded:

Something for water. Can't live long without it. This could be a simple canteen of water or something to make the local free-standing liquids potable - TL 6 tablets or a belt-sized higher TL device that cleans "water".

Troubleshooting-minded:

Portacomp able to connect wirelessly into the local net. Information source that could solve many problems. Kinda against the original tech of 1970's Traveller, but this same device we now know could easily double as a video camera and communicator.

 

[ThunderChilde]

Something along these lines for the bag.

http://www.dougritter.com/DR-aviator_survival_pak_contents.htm

Higher TL's aught to have canteens that filter and or condense out of the atmosphere for water.

This for a pocket when on a habitable planet.
http://www.dougritter.com/psp_contents.htm

That will do for sound start.

 

[Trent]

It depends.

In a "survival" situation money's not going to be worth xxxx, except for using in a fire.

Gurps traveller/space had a "pocket pack" issued to most spaces containing vital things. AIR, it had a small multitool (Swiss army knife), a small flashlight, vacuum proof tape, a marker that worked on most surfaces and in vacuum across a wide variety of temperatures, a food bar and a chocolate canday bar that tasted like chocolate covered sawdust.

Some kits might contain a suicide capsule for those situations where rescue is imposible and the only alternative is a slow death.

 

[aramis]

Rather than a suicide cap, maybe a dose of medical fast... "Hybernation in a styrette"...

A stable, if rather rough, 30 day 60:1 compression... and a sedative... you wake up refreshed but famished... feels like a good night's sleep, but 30 days have passed. Also has a warning tape that goes around the throat so that medics can tell at a glance why you are not rotting...

 

[Spinward Scout]

Glow tape: just an adhesive backed flat glowstick - snap and attach to wall or ceiling

or

Handcrank/solar powered flashlight radio (probably with a comlink or beacon)

and an equivalent of The WaterMill water condenser (solar or handcrank powered)

plus probably something like this.

 

[Zutroi]

Something along these lines for the bag.

http://www.dougritter.com/DR-aviator_survival_pak_contents.htm

Higher TL's aught to have canteens that filter and or condense out of the atmosphere for water.

This for a pocket when on a habitable planet.
http://www.dougritter.com/psp_contents.htm

That will do for sound start.

And note the instruction card has "Don't Panic" written on it in large, friendly letters!

A bit larger than my thinking though... this looks like the bag in the emergency locker at each airlock...

 

[Whipsnade]

Gents,

On a related topic, several years ago I ran across the idea of a "spooker" kit in a book dealing with industrial espionage. I cannot remember the title however. In the book, a rather strange mother and her equally strange son identify and kill industrial espionage agents for their "spookers" using a variety of disguises and approaches.

A "spooker" is a kit that contains "bug out" materials. Those materials usually consist of, but not limited to, a concealable weapon, a wad of cash, a couple different IDs, keys or other access to nearby transport, and items like gems that can converted into cash quickly or bartered. The "spooker" is always hidden someplace safe, close to hand, and quickly accessed. One such kit was concealed within the hollow core of an interior door. All the agent would need to do was slide open the top edge of the door, grab the kit, and bug out. Another kit was inside the tape slot of a VCR.

I used the "spooker" kit idea several times during my campaigns. If a player's character had a background that would have exposed them to the concept, I'd either slip the player a note or otherwise explain the idea to them. One of the more successful times I used a "spooker" was during the "Fixers" campaign I've written about. The players searched for and found the "spooker" belonging to a mystery man whose murder they'd been hired to investigate. The "spooker" held lots of leads that led precisely nowhere and it drove the players mad!


Regards,
Bill

P.S. Google is our friend. The book's title is, appropriately enough, Spooker and it's by Dean Ing. The reviews are pretty much in line with my memories. The ideas presented in the book were more interesting than the book itself.

 

[sabredog]

At least a body pistol and couple magazines. With that you might be able to get any items you forgot to pack already. Or at least shoot an alien squirrel for lunch.

 

[Icosahedron]

I know I've posted here somewhere, but I can't find it to link...

I use a small kit that can contain anything the player wants (at the GM's discretion). It is limited by size and cost, and once an item is a specified content, its space is deducted from the possible contents.

I find this freelance system better than trying to specify all contents in advance.

 

[far-trader]

I know I've posted here somewhere, but I can't find it to link...

I use a small kit that can contain anything the player wants (at the GM's discretion). It is limited by size and cost, and once an item is a specified content, its space is deducted from the possible contents.

I find this freelance system better than trying to specify all contents in advance.

EDIT: Ah, missed the "(at the GM's discretion)" bit (that probably answers most of my questions below )

Sounds like a good system for reasonable players...

...you've never had anyone say:

"And finally, I pull out the last item in my KIT, a (key to a locker or some such) over there where I stashed another KIT (months or years) ago. I retrieve the new KIT." :devil:

Speaking of which, do you impose any:

Best before or rough handling caveats on your KIT? Medicines especially have a limited shelf life and require careful handling and storage? That shot of Med, Slow, Combat or whatever in the KIT may not be so good if the character has had it on their person for over a year; through vacuum, blistering heat, freezing cold; falling off roofs, being run over, getting shot by every weapon known to humaniti :devil:

Or TL or Law Level restrictions? "I pull out a vial of fast acting untraceable poison and..." or "I pull out a small cube of TDX explosive and..." and so on.

It's the magic nature of these bags of wishes that have never felt right to me outside of a purely heroic fantasy game (and even within them most of the time). Might as well make all the guns with infinite magazines as well, and ignore encumbrance, and...

...I prefer my players to think about what they may need and actually let me know when and where they intend to buy it, how they intend to keep it safe, and when they actually have it with them. "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail."* Some item acquisitions will be an adventure in themselves.

* I generally like to attribute my famous quotes but memory and google have failed me on this one, does anyone know the origin?

Like I said, it might work with reasonable players, but it still feels cheap to me. And unfair to players who would/do actually think and plan. Not for me, but if it works for your group that's cool.

 

[Gadrin]

The ideas presented in the book were more interesting than the book itself.

That's one of the bug-aboos about RPGs is the preparation can sometimes
overwhelm the gaming session.

It's often easy to put emphasis on lots of details that you never use
or aren't really part of the session.

I suppose what makes a good GM is the ability to deal with details
on some level, such that it becomes easy to envision a given circumstance with the requirements.

The recent post about "how the Traveller Adventure seemed very
scripted" is a good example. Rather than on focusing on the actual
details, it's a good primer to show a newbie GM what sorts of things
a Traveller GM has to be able to deal with in the setting.

>

 

[Spinward Scout]

"Those who fail to plan, plan to fail."*

* I generally like to attribute my famous quotes but memory and google have failed me on this one, does anyone know the origin?

The Sphinx in Mystery Men?

 

[Icosahedron]

EDIT: Ah, missed the "(at the GM's discretion)" bit (that probably answers most of my questions below )

Sounds like a good system for reasonable players...

...you've never had anyone say:

"And finally, I pull out the last item in my KIT, a (key to a locker or some such) over there where I stashed another KIT (months or years) ago. I retrieve the new KIT."

As you say, GM's discretion deals with most of this. No, I wouldn't allow this one unless the player had previously informed me of a second kit. Having said that, they are allowed a spring clean to reset all contents to 'undefined'.

Speaking of which, do you impose any:

Best before or rough handling caveats on your KIT? Medicines especially have a limited shelf life and require careful handling and storage? That shot of Med, Slow, Combat or whatever in the KIT may not be so good if the character has had it on their person for over a year; through vacuum, blistering heat, freezing cold; falling off roofs, being run over, getting shot by every weapon known to humaniti

Certainly things can go wrong. Just because a player has an item it doesn't mean that item will work. :devil: However, my players generally are reasonable and if someone is using the kit as a saving throw to remain in the game, I'm usually reasonable too.

Or TL or Law Level restrictions? "I pull out a vial of fast acting untraceable poison and..." or "I pull out a small cube of TDX explosive and..." and so on.

Yeah, this would be discretionary, too. I'd take into account what customs searches the character had been through recently, and where he might have obtained the item.

It's the magic nature of these bags of wishes that have never felt right to me outside of a purely heroic fantasy game (and even within them most of the time). Might as well make all the guns with infinite magazines as well, and ignore encumbrance, and...

...I prefer my players to think about what they may need and actually let me know when and where they intend to buy it, how they intend to keep it safe, and when they actually have it with them. "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail."* Some item acquisitions will be an adventure in themselves.

* I generally like to attribute my famous quotes but memory and google have failed me on this one, does anyone know the origin?

Like I said, it might work with reasonable players, but it still feels cheap to me. And unfair to players who would/do actually think and plan. Not for me, but if it works for your group that's cool.

It's not a panacea for all problems, nor a Mary Poppins bag. Generally, the kit is small, perhaps a couple of hundred grams and/or cc (think the ubiquitous tobacco tin) and has a specified purpose, eg a mechanic might have a little kit for jury-rigging repairs - string and sealing wax, a bit of duct tape wrapped round a pencil, etc. or maybe a survivalist will have something geared to personal survival, etc. Unless the character is a professional assassin or a spy, I can't see me allowing a phial of poison...
I tend to be quite strict on the contents, and I advise players to list in advance any contents they think I might object to. :smirk:
I don't mind players specifying contents, so long as I don't have to.

It works like this:

Player: I'll tie the door shut with string.
Referee: Have you got a Rigging Kit?
Player: No.
Referee: You can't find any string. :devil:

or
Player: Yes.
Referee: The string is 10g and 30cc. Add it to your contents list.

 

[Icosahedron]

...Just grinning to myself at the language divide.
US=Fanny Pack
UK=Bum Bag.

Over here, a fanny pack suggests feminine sanitary wear, and over there a bum bag suggests a receptacle for a guy on Skid Row.

 

[abomination]

One of my freinds has spent a lot of time & thought on his "zombie bag":

http://www.slidelock.co.uk/2007/03/zombie-bag.html

 

[Jame]

Maybe a few hypos of medical drugs, a lighter (laser or chemical depending on TL), your ID and some credits. At higher TLs, you might have a small data storage device (think a thumb drive) and some sort of communications device (cell phone equivalent).

By about TL 10, the commo device will (okay, should) have enough computing power to be able to read that thumb drive.

 

[morfydd]

make that by tech level 8-9 able to read a thumb drive (think Palm or Blackberry)..fairly cheap and decent computing power..standard comms