Through the Veil
'Through the Veil' is part one of a Linked Adventure Series (LAS) called 'What are Friends for', that follows a new Subsidized Safari/Merchant ship looking to hire a few crew members for an extended (several months or longer) haul.
It is offered free to the public. To play 'Through the Veil', it is helpful to have a core set of Traveller rules. Mongoose Traveller is preferred, but any Traveller or even other SciFi RPG rules will work if you keep the limits listed below in mind. Outer Veil from SPICA Publishing would also be helpful, but is not required.
The backdrop for this adventure is the Outer Veil setting from SPICA Publishing.
The key elements of this setting are:
• There is no FTL (Faster-than-light) communication other than sending a starship with a message
• Interstellar travel is somewhat in its infancy. Jump-1 ships with a range of 1 parsec per week have been available for some time, but the Jump-2 engine is a recent invention.
• Although alien ruins have been found, humans are the only sentient species active in this area of space as far as anyone can tell.
• Human expansion out from Terra has been going on for several decades, but the distance from Earth to the Outer Veil and the unknown reaches beyond is relatively short. Nevertheless, this distance does represent several weeks’ transit for most starships.
• Central authority (and law and order) drops off fast away from the core worlds near Terra, making the Outer Veil a somewhat hazardous place.
• Not all the exploration and expansion going on is licensed or even known to the authorities. Unregistered and sometimes downright illicit colonies can be found on worlds that officially have not even been surveyed.
Each episode (adventure) is presented like story board with an overall arc/theme to get to the end destination, but with lots of potential for character growth, profit and interaction along the way for the players.
This is not a 'railroad' adventure, except for the fact than the end destination will be achieved with or without the characters. It is designed as a series of linked adventures. The characters will influence what happens along the way, but not to the point of changing the game, the universe and everything. They will travel beyond the know boundaries of government controlled space, but not into pure wilderness.
This free first adventure series is being presented in a slightly different way than most adventures are.
There is only the deckplan, no other artwork, and each adventure gives the overall story of that section but without any additional input in the printed adventure. The reasons for this are:
• It allows you to change the game to fit your universe if you do not want to exactly follow the Outer Veil universe from SPICA Publishing.
• It will be presented (Posted) on several forums where you can ask questions - providing direct assistance with questions, comments and details.
• It allows those who like a good story to read the adventures without feeling left out because you could not play the game with others.
• Written by MJD (Martin J Dougherty), it presents itself as both a story and an adventure.
• It helps keep the cost down since artwork, printed material and extra pages take additional resources. It’s the cake without the frosting.
There are 10 episodes (adventures) in 'Through the Veil' and each will be posted approximately 2 weeks apart.
Through the Veil is the first part of a trilogy, but it is also designed to stand alone. Sometime after Through the Veil has been completely released, it will be made available as a PoD book with some artwork, footnotes and additional material.
'Through the Veil' is part one of a Linked Adventure Series (LAS) called 'What are Friends for', that follows a new Subsidized Safari/Merchant ship looking to hire a few crew members for an extended (several months or longer) haul.
It is offered free to the public. To play 'Through the Veil', it is helpful to have a core set of Traveller rules. Mongoose Traveller is preferred, but any Traveller or even other SciFi RPG rules will work if you keep the limits listed below in mind. Outer Veil from SPICA Publishing would also be helpful, but is not required.
The backdrop for this adventure is the Outer Veil setting from SPICA Publishing.
The key elements of this setting are:
• There is no FTL (Faster-than-light) communication other than sending a starship with a message
• Interstellar travel is somewhat in its infancy. Jump-1 ships with a range of 1 parsec per week have been available for some time, but the Jump-2 engine is a recent invention.
• Although alien ruins have been found, humans are the only sentient species active in this area of space as far as anyone can tell.
• Human expansion out from Terra has been going on for several decades, but the distance from Earth to the Outer Veil and the unknown reaches beyond is relatively short. Nevertheless, this distance does represent several weeks’ transit for most starships.
• Central authority (and law and order) drops off fast away from the core worlds near Terra, making the Outer Veil a somewhat hazardous place.
• Not all the exploration and expansion going on is licensed or even known to the authorities. Unregistered and sometimes downright illicit colonies can be found on worlds that officially have not even been surveyed.
Each episode (adventure) is presented like story board with an overall arc/theme to get to the end destination, but with lots of potential for character growth, profit and interaction along the way for the players.
This is not a 'railroad' adventure, except for the fact than the end destination will be achieved with or without the characters. It is designed as a series of linked adventures. The characters will influence what happens along the way, but not to the point of changing the game, the universe and everything. They will travel beyond the know boundaries of government controlled space, but not into pure wilderness.
This free first adventure series is being presented in a slightly different way than most adventures are.
There is only the deckplan, no other artwork, and each adventure gives the overall story of that section but without any additional input in the printed adventure. The reasons for this are:
• It allows you to change the game to fit your universe if you do not want to exactly follow the Outer Veil universe from SPICA Publishing.
• It will be presented (Posted) on several forums where you can ask questions - providing direct assistance with questions, comments and details.
• It allows those who like a good story to read the adventures without feeling left out because you could not play the game with others.
• Written by MJD (Martin J Dougherty), it presents itself as both a story and an adventure.
• It helps keep the cost down since artwork, printed material and extra pages take additional resources. It’s the cake without the frosting.
There are 10 episodes (adventures) in 'Through the Veil' and each will be posted approximately 2 weeks apart.
Through the Veil is the first part of a trilogy, but it is also designed to stand alone. Sometime after Through the Veil has been completely released, it will be made available as a PoD book with some artwork, footnotes and additional material.
