[Wanderer] RPG.net Swords and Sorcery thread

It would appear that the urge to use the simple Traveller-style RPG system for a more . . . fantastical setting is common. Witness this thread over on RPG.net. These intrepid souls are using the Mongoose Traveller implementation for their base system.

Things haven't gotten too deep as yet, but they've got a focus and are getting things done.

So, in the immortal words of Doc Grognard, "...and three of us makes conspiracy!".

Awesome!

[IMCotD] Traveller, or sick, sick ADnD

(2:04:27 PM) Gerall: is Grandfather a psionic Droyne lich, like an alhoon (illithid lich)?
(2:04:55 PM) Kevin: no, no, no, NO.
(2:05:03 PM) Gerall: you sure?
(2:05:09 PM) Kevin: no.

[Traveller] Ship Design - Kha Class Strike Carrier

To help in writing Wanderer, I wanted to run some Classic Traveller and get my "combat legs" back for the system. Talking with my group, I found several were wanting to run a military game and tear things up with Gray Ops, Battle Dress-equipped Imperial Marines. Given the scenario-based game, I thought I'd indulge in some custom ship design and make the ship the center of the stories.

[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] 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?