[IMCotD] Do Robots Count as "Bugs"?

IM Conversations of the Damned


(1:10:46 PM) Gerall: it's a TL8 colony
(1:10:56 PM) Gerall: they have machineguns and mortars
(1:11:01 PM) Jeff: Oh
(1:11:03 PM) Gerall: mines
(1:11:19 PM) Gerall: one or two vehicles to shoot at you from
(1:11:22 PM) Jeff: So this'll be a stand up fight
(1:11:33 PM) Jeff: not a bug hunt
(1:11:41 PM) Gerall: until the Zhodani battle robots show up, anyway
(1:11:53 PM) Jeff: Go Zho!!

[Wanderer] Introduction begun

Got a little writing done last night for Wanderer. Using the original LBBs as a template, I'm writing the Introduction and "What is role playing" sections.

To be honest, strict discipline is the only thing keeping me to this old-school standard. I was one of those people whose first exposure to role playing was sitting at a table and watching a group work their way through the end of Slave Pits of the Undercity. Getting to actually see the ebb and flow of the game brought the experience home much more solidly than any "what is roleplaying" section I've ever read. My gaming group includes people who had to rely on these chapters during their formative gaming years, and I cannot imagine having to climb that hill on my own...


So, writing is beginning on the Wanderer project. Huzzah! I'm really enjoying it.


In other news, the default setting for Wanderer will be vague and allow for Referees to build what they want of their world. The initial premise is that progenitor civilizations blasted each other to bits hundreds of years ago, and currently heroes are beginning to protect their tribes and build new kingdoms. This will allow for the "randomly generated" aspects of the Traveller rules to be implemented in Wanderer without too much handwavium. Randomly generated entities will include; kingdoms, ruins (of the progenitor kingdoms), and beasts / monsters.


Generating random monsters to wander through the PCs' settlements ties into the previous collapse of civilization; magical experimentation led to their downfall. Generating random ruins and kingdoms provides the opportunity for solitary play. I don't want to use the term "dungeon", but it's a hard habit to break when it fits so well.


Modern role playing games have the concept of a Referee as default; original Traveller was brilliant in that it allowed for solitary play through the use of the randomly-generated creatures, star systems, planets, and cargoes. Ergo, Wanderer shall fit this paradigm as well. It's going to be an interesting experiment.


Can't wait until the end of the month! Work is keeping me hopping until the end of June. Wanderer development should rocket along swiftly after the first week of July.

[IMCotD] Gloranthan Grammar

IM Conversations of the Damned


(3:08:45 PM) Gerall: I'm thinking Lineage - it's growing on me
(3:08:51 PM) Gerall: like a vine
(3:08:55 PM) Gerall: damn elfs
(3:09:20 PM) Kevin: Elves, man, not Elfs. That's Glorantha.
(3:09:27 PM) Gerall: LOL
(3:09:30 PM) Gerall: did that on purpose
(3:09:47 PM) Gerall: to evoke a reaction - thanks!
(3:10:02 PM) Kevin: ::shakes fist::

[Wanderer] Skills collected and organized

Kevin, being the productive guy he is, has finished collecting together skills for the fantasy version of Traveller. Basic and Cascade skills are included. I'll be going over this list, adding descriptions and further game-science goodness as time permits.

Lots less Computer - lots more Archery!

Once this is hammered out, we'll begin the task of organizing the Careers. First step will be to detail the core Careers (Basic LBB careers, plus the interesting bits from Citizens of the Imperium), and make them human-o-centric. Basic Traveller being the target to emulate, we're envisioning longer books to do detail work within things like Mercenary, Sea Guard, Scouts, and Merchant Prince.

Which brings up the concept of species / ethnicity / culture / and race...

How does Race Module 1 - Elves grab you? We want to keep the original flavor of the Traveller implementation as much as possible. Anything presented in its own Module is a sapient entity capable of being played (however horrendously) by the PCs.

Anyone have a recommendation for a word other than "Race" for the title of the Modules? Feels strange to use that word in that context. Something archaic and meaningful? Let me know!

[Wanderer] Old-school Traveller hack

Thanks to PSMangus, I've gotten bitten by the Wanderer bug... Kevin and I have begun writing, and it feels very good to apply some love to this venerable game system.

The Traveller boxed set was the first gaming item I ever bought for myself. It was amazing. The text was laid out differently than the Dungeons and Dragons material my friends were caught up in, and with a minimum amount of art the whole artifact evoked the image of the far future really well. It will be a real challenge to describe a Fantasy RPG with well-written text. One I'm looking forward to.

I can already feel a different "mood" take over when I think about PSMangus' Dreamer concept. H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands works have kept me entertained for years. The names, places, and exotics of that realm just beg for a gaming implementation too. I'm a fan of Chaosium's efforts in this direction, but feel that the BRP version of the game calls up shades of it's Elder sibling and taints what could be a tremendously unique setting. Using the tricks of presentation the original Traveller material taught us would be ideal for this setting!

Something just a little different from the sanity-smashing juggernaught that is Call of Cthulhu.

Who knew, all these years on, those little black books would be causing such a ruckus?