Other than these two, the rest of the entire party (except for my character, funnily enough) died to horrendous giant alien centipedes.
"I have already forgiven your transgressions, but my children are not as forgiving. And I cannot control their whims."
I have implemented two new rules:
Rule 4: No Piracy. No illicit sharing of copywritten material, nor links to the same.
This was always a rule but wasn't formally posted until now.
Rule 5: No Low-Effort Content. Content shared in this subreddit should be thoughtful, additive, and effortful. This includes restrictions on memes and AI-generated images, text, music, or videos.
This rule came about after a large discussion on GenAI content. You can find the whole discussion with specifically my explanation for why I chose this rule in the bottom half of this post.
Thank you all for your contributions to this subreddit.
The Companion has a new career called Believer, and one of the Events reads:
"You retreat from the mundane world for a time in the hope of a revelation, although this affects your work and relationships. Lose SOC -D3 but gain D3 Benefit rolls and DM+1 on these and all future Benefit rolls."
The language here is ambiguous. Do you think it means only benefits in this career? Or all future careers?
It seems they're going through the previous books and doing errata updates. CSC is the latest.
HI folks -
I'm warming up to start a new campaign with my son, sister- and brother-in-law, relatively low combat investigative campaign I think.
I shall need maps.
I like the geomorph tiles approach and have attempted to use it a few times in the past, but these and other maps have always been something which have taken me too long to create.
I've always been terrible at drawing, I'm vaguely competent with gimp and similar, but my work is error prone and takes a while. I can however, code (QA teams at my employer may beg to differ), and AI tools make me faster/more able to complete projects in the limited spare time I have.
As such, I've pulled something I think it useful together, and wanted to share it with the community.
It basically leverages the excellent Geomorph tiles by Eric B Smith (which in turn are made from the e-book/pdfs created by Robert Pearce), and provides a (rudimentary at the moment) file browser from which you can drag tiles onto and around a canvas, join them together, rotate them, etc to create your deck-plans, maps, etc.
Your creations are all stored locally (browser storage, if you nuke your browser, you will lose the layouts), can be downloaded as PDFs, and I've built in a very basic "sync saves to the cloud (uses Firebase)" so that the risk of browser storage nuking is limited.
Anyway. It exists now.
You're all more than welcome to use it (unless/until it starts costing me a problematic amount of money to host/run and I have to pull it down, this seems unlikely however, given the limited cloud data storage), and I'd be delighted to receive your critical feedback (I've got some known bugs to work through), and your recommendations for improvements.
[I've removed the link to try to get past Reddit filters?! will post in a follow up]
I thought - given the current AI debate - it would be interesting to show how a human improved his skill in using Universe Sandbox.
Back in October 2024 I started my first Traveller campaign since I had lasted played back in the early 1980s. I had purchased Universe Sandbox, so I decided to create each of my players' Traveller's home planet for their character sheets.
Back then I wasn't bothering to create the whole solar system. It was only later that I started the project of detailing hundreds of Traveller planets and Solar Systems.
As they say practice and 1,941 hours makes you better.
Edited to add ... I should say that this is Cipango with its barely visible ring and its habitable moon Tsuki-Shivva.
A ship design and art I've been working on for a few weeks.
The Caerus class (Greek god of opportunity and luck) is an exercise in minimalism and cost cutting, aiming to be the smallest and cheapest jump capable ship money can buy, that is still able to serve a practical purpose. She is built using a light 100 dton close structure hull that can enter planetary atmospheres but still carry external cargo between high ports. She is a tail sitting design, to allow the cargo decks to not have grav plating without worrying about thrust sending cargo flying into the walls. The sloped fuel tanks running down her side are unable to disguise the fact that the ship is a utilitarian box, as her shape is dominated by her comparatively enormous 50 dton 2 double high cargo bay, with bow and aft cargo loading ramps to allow for easy roll on roll off cargo.
Her third deck is a cramped affair, with her 4 person crew crammed into two tiny double occupancy state rooms and an undersized bridge, the only token gesture of luxury being a 10,000 credit entertainment system in the small lounge.
The third deck also houses the ships drive systems, stuffed wherever they would fit along the hull of the craft and inside 4 nacelles. Its complete focus on form following function and inattention to things such as ease of maintenance allowed for the drives to be substantially cheaper, but are quite a bit more difficult to maintain, often exhausting the crew after just a week or so space side.
This is not helped by the fact that the drives themselves were built on a budget, the maneuver drive and power plant are both oversized and the Jump Drive is robust but poorly calibrated, requiring venturing out past 150 diameters in order to safely jump.
Her killer feature is her large flexible cargo capacity, able to haul 50 tons of cargo on J2 routes, and a staggering 150 tons (50 tons internally, 100 tons externally) on jump 1 mains between high ports. Between her low purchase and maintenance costs (a mere 1,155 credits a month!) and her enormous utility, those crews who have the grit to tolerate her no frills accommodations will find themselves with an enormously profitable little traders on their hands.
I'm always looking for ways to be more spontaneous in reaction to player actions/activities. 76 Patrons is one of my favorite resources for this -- especially the subtle connections across them. I think cards would be a good resource for this. Similar to the encounter cards in the 4e version of Twilight 2000. It's like: here's a thing, GM. Go.
I'm thinking of running it, and wonder if there are any tips you'd suggest? Or what people think about it?
Also, how long is it likely to take? Is it a long one like Secrets, or much shorter to play?
Has anyone managed to get hold of Voyager, John Wick's sword & sorcery take on Traveller?
I did order it from Mr Wick's shop, but a month later I have no product, no update, and no reply to my queries. I'm wondering whether I should keep on chasing, or just get a chargeback on my card.
Just interested in anyone’s thoughts/opinions on Stunner power packs.
Laser pistol even at TL 11 need to be connected to an external battery pack. At TL 13 we get the Personal Defense Laser that uses power cartridges that insert into the handgrip, similar to a slug thrower pistol.
But what about stunners? On the one hand, a power cartridge seems plausible because it isn’t generating the range or damage of a laser pistol at the same TL. On the other hand, the cost of the power pack, as related to the cost of the weapon, seems a lot higher than a disposable power cartridge.
Besides the Traveler Universe, what other Universe's are popular?
Given the discussion about TL 12 and lower campaigns, I'm curious if anyone has tried TL 20 and higher campaigns. There's a lot of newer space opera science fiction that operates at very high tech levels, which push the limits of Traveller and might call for a more abstract system. The work of Peter Watts and Alastair Reynolds would be an example.
At TL 20, societies are post scarcity, with the ability to print state of the art equipment at will. Minds can be uploaded and transferred between bodies, but the technology doesn't yet exist to copy or fork someone's mind. (According to Traveller5 Core Book 2, anyway) Matter teleportation exists, with the accompanying problems it causes, but grey goo type equipment would be balky and experimental. (though still possible) Ubiquitous AI is absolutely a possibility, and technology is likely to be defined less by what it can do than who it is.
How would you adapt Traveller to a very high tech post-scarcity setting? Character creation would likely be the area most impacted, since characters don't have to experience as many problems with aging or injury.
Outside of books, what's your favourite Traveller prop or item?
While I love Traveller as a TTRPG, sometimes I want something that's beyond the theatre of the mind – a way to physically touch or commemorate or experience Traveller.
I am thinking of things like this patch for the 4518th Light Infantry Regiment. (I have no idea if it's authorized or not). Or the Droyne coins. Or TCard Deck 1, a "'poker-size playing card deck of interesting Traveller concepts: weapons, vehicles, ships, worlds, and more."
Call of Cthulhu really does an awesome job with immersive props. Please share with me your favorites.
Or share with me your ideas that you wish you could buy!
Cheers!
This is an adventure for Cepheus Engine.
While in star port the travelers are summoned into the presence of the Port Authority Director
Santino Nakamura. Santino has a problem. Actually....he has several problems......
It seems that some ships are in port right now. These ships arrived in the port days ago. But there are no crews to these ships. According to records each of these ships arrived before they even departed from their point of origin. The crews are missing but the cargo is intact. As are the ships themselves. Life support seems to be functioning as normal.
Records also indicate that these ships transmitted docking requests from systems that they had not yet visited. One of the ship’s log shows sensor recordings of a stellar event (nova) which has not yet occurred. It will not occur for another two weeks. And some of these ships logs mention the individual travelers by name!
Santino offers CR 300,000 for the travelers to investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it.
I've played Traveller off and on since the 80's, and have always loved the involved and beefy character creation process. My wife and I also play an ongoing 5th edition D&D game with friends online. She's only ever played 5e; hearing me talk about Traveller got her very interested in trying Traveller out, and I was excited to help her through the lifepath-style character generation as a session zero. I did very briefly talk about this being different than 5e: the character concept comes along as you build, or not even until the end sometimes; you just need to see what the tables say. I didn't come back to that and didn't go on about it - it's a lot.
Very quickly, it turned kinda sour for her. Bad rolls on stats. One failure to qualify for her chosen career, and then a mishap roll that dropped six points off her endurance and kicked her out of her secondary career. She'd started with a character concept in mind, and half a backstory, both of which were ruined in her mind. Frustrated, we took a break for the day.
I love the emergent style of 'Old-School' games like Traveller and AD&D 1e play. Failures and setbacks, unexpected good luck all make a much more interesting and challenging character story for me. Like a hardy pioneer, I know better than to name my character until they're safely done with their careers and ready to travel. But for her, it was the opposite. Every 'bad' roll was the game telling her she couldn't have what she wanted.
I get that not every game is going to be someone's cup of tea. Is there a way to sort of ease players into Traveller that are not also familiar with the idea of emergent play and 'letting Tables take the wheel' to see what happens? I've thought that maybe pre-gen characters for the first couple of sessions might help. Also maybe using one of the online character generators to get through the process without having to dwell on results.
Ultimately, if she doesn't like it after session 2, we'll let it go. But I do want to give her a chance to experience Traveller. And I can't help but think others who are new to emergent play might run into the same frustrations, and your advice could help others as well.
I only play Mongoose Traveler 2e but for Mongoose Traveler 2e, what media does everything think fits in the same vein as Traveler 2e?
Some I think fits are Captain Harlock, Dr. Who, and some of Star Trek.
What are some others think fits?
If you're in a Discord game involving an Aslan warrior, a Human scientist, and a Bwap scout, please don't read any further. Also, this post will contain spoilers for the adventure "High and Dry", so be warned.
Okay, now that my players have been warned off:
I'm starting up a Traveller mini-campaign in the near future. My plan is to start with the adventure Flatlined, transition into Death Station, and then do High and Dry and see if the players want more or if "and you fly your starship off into the sunset" is a good ending point.
The problem I have is the nature of that starship. One of the characters has rolled up a Lab Ship in their mustering out benefits, and another has rolled a Ship's Boat. My plan is to upgrade that boat to a Pinnace to go with the Lab Ship. I don't see any inherent problems there.
However, when it comes to the ship that's the prize of the High and Dry scenario, this doesn't quite work for me. The Lab Ship can't be in the crater because it's unstreamlined. I could have the Pinnace in the crater with the Lab Ship in orbit, but the Pinnace lacks the advanced sensors and probe drones of the Scout Ship that the scenario expects.
My thinking at the moment is to have the Lab Ship and Pinnace impounded for unpaid docking fees by the time the characters get back to them after the first two adventures, and to then have the IISS step in and offer to get the ships out of impound if the PCs will just go and retrieve a lost Scout Ship for them.
I just thought I would throw this out there for the community to brainstorm on.
I managed to snag Reach Adventures 1-5 cause i read and heard that High & Dry might be a nice starting adventure.
I saw Skorkowsky's videos, and even his Secrets of the Ancients.
Currently reading through character creation.
Now to my questions.
I saw H&D is on Walston, but the other Reach Adventures are barely close by, with the H&D they'd be at least 2 weeks away from every adventure, and there seems to be no connection in between the adventures themselves (i thought there was).
Is it even worth to try and connect all the adventures together? Would that be a lot of work?
I've been checking travellermap.com and i can print out a booklet with all the planets on a hex grid, but i read most people say here and on Skorkowsky's videos that it's best to focus on one sector and just start from there (I tend to agree, hundreds of planets at your disposal will 100% paralyse my players), so how should i go about adventures? On one hand i want to respect preestablished lore and UWPs, on the other i don't know how to make my players go to a sector adjacent to the beginning one unless it's just "you guys got a job here now" and using the excuse of guaranteed work for the players.
Also, i should make the players create characters from the sector they'll play in right? thanks!
