Traveller is Close to 40 Years Old Now

Marc Miller was in a discussion panel at Gamehole Con this year, where he talked about Traveller.

A Year Goes By Fast

Well... 2015 (around this time of year) was interesting for Traveller role-players. Still feeling the effects of it a year later.

A year ago, Mongoose Traveller Second Edition was in play-testing, Traveller 5.1 was released, and a series of Agent of the Imperium novels was an idea.

And now we see Mongoose Traveller Second Edition is in print. And we see the first Agent of the Imperium novel is in print, which is based on Traveller 5.1.

I think that was quick. Time flew by for these projects. Schedules were made. Deadlines were met. I had to cancel my book order of Traveller: Prime Directive, because it's been five years now and doesn't look like it will ever be a thing.

Handling 2019 in Your Pre-Traveller Eras

In 1982, I was guilty of using Blade Runner as part of Traveller's future timeline. It kind of made sense, since 2019 was far off enough sci-fi-wise to fit in with far future stuff, etc. I'm sure many did this with their Blade Runner Traveller gaming.

Now that 2019 is almost here, and Los Angeles still looks the same (maybe with a few new taller buildings here and there), we can't really use Blade Runner (the movie) as a setting leading up to Traveller. Assuming still, the whole timeline progression thing.

So Blade Runner 2 is the next try. It takes place decades from now. So "in the far future" again. I'm curious what computers will look like in BR2. If it's still old Syd Mead style analogue stuff, then ya, I may have to make an excuse for Traveller's timeline being tacked onto the sequel's timeline. But if computers are iPhones basically in the new movie, then (what the heck) Traveller will still be a thing much later than the movie takes place in. In the same universe, etc.

I mention this only as a way (there are many other ways, of course) that I would introduce players new to role-playing to using Traveller. Players will already know the setting from the movie, so that won't need explaining to them.

My hope is that BR2 is a good movie.

Another scenario... again, one I've probably used a few times already... and that is, still use Blade Runner as a starting point. But add 40 years to 2019.Same story and all. Just make it 2059 instead.

I have never had a player complain about having some Blade Runner in a Traveller session. Some planet somewhere is bound to be similar to the movie.

Then there are those days when I feel that Traveller has no Blade Runner whatsoever in its timeline, because different timeline.

How will you all handle 2019 in your pre-Traveller eras, if you do?

A Space Elevator Draft

I resumed work on my space elevator last night. It was modeled in Hexagon 1.21 using a repeated stack of links. I think it's 12km tall. Might be more than that. So I can repeat what I've built onto further stacks until it reaches some orbit height somewhere. But for close shots, I had enough of the elevator to work from for this Vue scene.

The longest part was just deciding how big the anchor should be and what that all looks like. I still have a lot of structure to add around the ground connection. I'm thinking of having the elevator go down a ways into the ground. But I still need something in the ground for the elevator shaft to hang onto. So that is being worked out.

This shot could be of a new (found) world. Vacant. For reasons, an elevator was approved first before any starport construction. Maybe the starport will be pre-fabbed on the spot, depending on what materials are left behind when the elevator is completed. If in twenty years, this world is expected to be a busy place, a class A starport will be attached near the base, along with a highport at the other end. Otherwise, it will default to a class C with just drones roaming the wastes until someone wants to make something out of the world.

I needed a real basic image like this for artifact use in a one-shot. Maybe two one-shots ago. So now I made time to make one for show-n-tell with players for the next time. Depending on how that elevator holds up, more stuff may get added to it for another possible one-shot.

Why Not Keep Mongoose Traveller 1st Edition Books?

I was asked about 1st edition Mongoose Traveller about a week ago. At a game store, someone brought up the green titled books, and if I was going to keep mine or not.

I figured they were talking about the new 2nd edition being released, and that maybe they were thinking the 1st edition books were not compatible. I didn't have much time to answer, because of some game events starting up. I just remember saying that I planned on keeping the 1st edition books because of their advanced character generation rules.

As I was heading to my car, I was thinking about the different books. One of them was Cybernetics. And I had forgotten why that book was yellow instead of green titled. I think I was driving to Krispy Kreme, still thinking about it.

I just now thought about that question again. And looking at my Traveller bookshelves here, I'm seeing that the book is indeed one of the yellow ones. Which means the rules are not strictly for the Imperium setting. They're more generic in their use.

So I started looking at the other yellow titled books I have. I'll be keeping those as well, because of the generic-ness of them.

Looking for Beta Testers

I'm looking for Beta testers who can test an NPC generator for the next two weeks on their Windows computers.

Message me your email if you want to be a tester.

Traveller: Knowing The Difference

It's 2016, and people still confuse RPG system with setting.

They'll say how they love a setting, for an RPG that has no setting. Or they'll say they love a game system, when they are talking about a setting source book.

They are the same chuckle heads that say, "but that isn't how Star Wars works", when talking about Traveller's game system.

Anyway. When someone tells me they love Traveller, it means nothing to me. It's like saying they love TV. I like to know what part of Traveller they're talking about. Make them think about what they just said. It only helps both of us.

Dragons and Spaceships

 

Alejandro Olmedo has been painting a world with dragons and spaceships. And they fit nicely together. People cringe when I mention dragons in my High Society Traveller. Take a look at his project gallery at http://alejandroolmedo.cgsociety.org

Make Traveller Subsector Maps in Hexographer

Here's a video showing how to make Traveller-style subsector maps using Hexographer. Because of the transparency along the edge of a generated map, a photo editor that can work with PNG files will also be needed for embedding maps in your other images as overlays, etc. A free editor to use is Inkscape. I'm using Paint Shop Pro in this video.

The Worst RPG Rules I've Seen in a While

"Are you a virgin? This can be very important if you are female and trying to charm a unicorn."

Really? Yes, it's true. The quote above is from an RPG called RINGWIELDER. Best to stay clear of it. I beg of you. For everyone's sanity. This is exactly the kind of role-play rules that have mentally scarred many an adult. You know. Those old fat dudes with fanny packs that tell you they have been role-playing for 30+ years. Mention this game to them, and they will tell you what a great game it is. Nostalgia can warp a mind. Very sad.

At any rate, consider this a PSA.