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!
Showing posts with label Wanderer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wanderer. Show all posts
2010-11-12
[Wanderer] The Coiners' League
The Coiners' League
History
At the foundation of empire, three powerful guilds were fighting for dominance of the new political landscape. The Tal Oligarchy's sacred beggars, the Rumasquari Burgler Academy, and the Orim settled into an agreement where each formal member of an organization could seek protection (if not commiseration) with the others. This arrangement has become known as the Coiners' Pact.
History
At the foundation of empire, three powerful guilds were fighting for dominance of the new political landscape. The Tal Oligarchy's sacred beggars, the Rumasquari Burgler Academy, and the Orim settled into an agreement where each formal member of an organization could seek protection (if not commiseration) with the others. This arrangement has become known as the Coiners' Pact.
2010-09-25
[Wanderer] Career - Nobles
Nobles are the social backbone of the Empire. They are the elite, charged by their Sovereigns and the Emperor himself with responsibility for the peoples and settlements of the bonded Kingdoms. Each kingdom might have different titles based on their traditions, but the Emperor has clearly outlined expected behavior for those claiming noble status.
This may seem a little different from the Classic Traveller version of the noble, but it is the one career that knits Wanderer's default setting together.
This may seem a little different from the Classic Traveller version of the noble, but it is the one career that knits Wanderer's default setting together.
2010-08-31
[Wanderer] Career - Mystics
Classic Traveller's Book 2 was entitled simply Starships. This part of the core rules pervaded the rest of the setting and was instrumental in contributing to the "feel". When the Wanderer books were faked up, the artist made the second book of the trilogy hold the secrets for magic. Following the meta-pattern as much as possible, this bends our design of Wanderer to talk about magic or magical effects when Traveller speaks of starships and, well, travelling...
Low Passages in mustering out tables become one-shot magic items. Starships become Enchanted Artifacts tied to the setting. "Major races" and "minor races" are defined by their metaphysics; who codified their magics and teach them and who uses the magics taught by others.
With this concept in mind, let's talk about the Mystic career for our Wanderer.
Low Passages in mustering out tables become one-shot magic items. Starships become Enchanted Artifacts tied to the setting. "Major races" and "minor races" are defined by their metaphysics; who codified their magics and teach them and who uses the magics taught by others.
With this concept in mind, let's talk about the Mystic career for our Wanderer.
2010-08-15
[Wanderer] Career - Rogues
Among the peoples of the Empire, there is plenty of opportunity for illegal profit. There are innumerable practitioners of crime across the Kingdoms of the Empire, but the first and strongest organization to rise across multiple Kingdoms is known as the Coiners' League. Highly organized and focused, the Coiners keep their members ahead of each Sovereign's authorities.
2010-08-02
[Wanderer] Muses - Optional Experience
The Problem
In modelling Wanderer on the Classic Traveller LBBs, we come to the inescapable conclusion that the original design did not provide for development of a character's skills after character generation. For the era, there was no precedent that advancement mechanics would be viable (or even popular). Modern RPGs are now an ecosystem of the descendants of games where character advancement was a means of making your character unique and fitting for the setting she was a part of.
In modelling Wanderer on the Classic Traveller LBBs, we come to the inescapable conclusion that the original design did not provide for development of a character's skills after character generation. For the era, there was no precedent that advancement mechanics would be viable (or even popular). Modern RPGs are now an ecosystem of the descendants of games where character advancement was a means of making your character unique and fitting for the setting she was a part of.
2010-07-26
[Wanderer] Career - Warriors
Here are working notes on Wanderer's Warriors career path. Feel free to add feedback (constructive criticism is appreciated; flaming will getcha baned!).
Characters are created using the same outline as in Traveller Book 1, Characters and Combat. There are a number of cascade skills (which are documented), as well as the basics for skill accumulation and mustering out. As previously stated, the "default setting" described by these careers will be documented in a different post. Trust me; this initial Kingdom will have many similarities to those who have read the world's most popular roleplaying game.
Characters are created using the same outline as in Traveller Book 1, Characters and Combat. There are a number of cascade skills (which are documented), as well as the basics for skill accumulation and mustering out. As previously stated, the "default setting" described by these careers will be documented in a different post. Trust me; this initial Kingdom will have many similarities to those who have read the world's most popular roleplaying game.
2010-06-23
[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.
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.
2010-06-21
[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::
(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!
2010-06-19
[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?
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