Traveller is a classic science fiction system first released in 1976. In its original release it was a general purpose SF system, but a setting was soon developed called The Third Imperium, based on classic space opera tropes of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, with a slight noir tint. Though it can support a wide range of game types, the classic campaign involves a group of retired veterans tooling around in a spaceship, taking whatever jobs they can find in a desperate bid to stay in business, a la Firefly or Cowboy Bebop.
To dig into Classic, I'd suggest looking at Starter Traveller. Megatraveller improves upon Classic by folding DGP's Universal Task Profile into the core rules, so you don't need to rule on how to handle new rolls on the spot, but also drags the complex mechanics of Striker, the tabletop war game, into core Traveller rules. Better to steal the bits you like from MT. MegaTraveller does have excellent writeups on the Vilani, Vargr, Aslan, and Solomani, though. It's got probably the best book on the Vilani around.
Starter Traveller is Classic with some errata, and a new, simpler ship combat system, replacing the vector based system of the original Little Black Books. (The vector system was taken from the war game adaptation of Lensman)
Blake Jackson
Thanks
Tyler Barnes
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Jackson Kelly
Doing a pick-up short term campaign tomorrow with 2 PCs. Should be hilarious, as I have no idea what I'm going to do. Just got asked to do it today in the down time from our usual D&D campaign.
One of the PCs suggested he wanted to play as a planetary defense force during a Tyranid invasion, so I could potentially go on that theme... wish me luck. any suggestions are welcome. At this stage I'm just going to pic a random world and make it up as I go.... uncertain how successful that will be!
Christian Myers
You could pit them against a K'Kree invasion force on a human planet bordering their territory? Fight for your right to eat meat?
Be even better if you ended the module true 40k style: They fight off the ground force, and in response the K'Kree fleet glasses the planet with ortillery.
Andrew Sanchez
Love the idea of fighting off K'Kree invasion to defend your right to eat meat.
Also could do one where they have to force off some Aslan before the females show up and make it a full colony.
Zachary Martinez
K'Kree are hilarious, but I've managed to come up with some ideas - rolled up 2 creatures for them to deal with on a space station above an almost uninhabited world in the rimward rim of the solomani confederation.
The creatures are deep-sea evolved, so lots of spines and slimy dark carapaces. Some use light lures Beast 1 is a Leaper - 800kg carnivore chaser, STR 18, DEX 5, END 13, 1 armor, with a +3 thrasher attack doing 2D6 damage. D6 encountered at a time (I'll only roll once for this starport) Moves slightly faster than a PC
Beast 2 is a Sporganism - similair str, dex and end to the Leaper, main weapon is replaced with a spore orifice - spews out spores that expand faster than a PC can run. inhaling the spores means END check or unconsious for D3 rounds, also means you're impregnated with the creatures young - they're supposed to breed in the flesh, but the lungs will do. Counts as a disease similair to anthrax: -3 DM, D6+2 damage, with a period of D6 days. If the spores aren't removed within 5 days, they hatch into many many worms which will grow into new creatures after exiting the body (I imagine having hundreds of worms emitting from your lungs can't be that pleasant) The sporeganism can also emit a concentrated burst of acidic compounds that can burn through up to 8 armor, and does D6 damage (as well as all the spore stuff)
So the plan is to pit the 2 PCs against these 2 freakish monster types - 1D6 of the leapers and 2D6 of the sporeganisms in an abandoned space station and see what happens. Should be something like Alien isolation, but with much less visibility due to spore clouds everywhere, and potentially some alluring light lures in the haze... Should be interesting and deadly
Gotta dust all the cobwebs off my traveller running ability - its been a good 6 months
Anthony Cruz
Sounds fucking terrifying.
I approve.
Cooper Nelson
At first I was thinking "what the hell am I going to do" and not looking forward to it, but now I have some kind of outline, I'm excited! I'll be back tomorrow to let you guys know how it went
Jaxson Scott
Good luck, user!
Blake Wood
When invading, which would you prefer: Dedicated atmospheric combat platforms inserted for use at captured air fields, or specialized aerospace fighters designed for launch from an orbital carrier for use in both space and air combat? I'm supposing atmospheric-only fighters can be smaller, lighter, and perhaps faster due to not having to handle the rigors of space, but fighters designed for both roles are, well... multirole.
Logan Cox
I'd just hang out in the upper atmosphere and fire beams and drop missiles on enemy air and ground forces. A bit of altitude is a fine advantage.
Evan Hall
Huh. I never thought of it that way. So do you think atmospheric fighters will be wholly obsolesced in a scenario where space warfare is a thing? Or would they maybe take on more of a trainer/COIN role like we see now with old fighters/prop fighters?
Brandon Campbell
>atmospheric fighters They would be used in lower tech worlds, and also For Coin in high tech world due to cost to operate.
Christian Perry
Good luck!
Hunter Allen
So what is your fave ship ?
Colton Jones
ANIMAL-CLASS SAFARI SHIP THIS IS SOME FUCKING SWAG RIGHT HERE SCUSE ME WHILE I GO HUNT SHRIEKERS ON 567-908 IN THE SEXIEST STARSHIP TO SLIDE DOWN THE REGINA SLIPWAY
Easton Jones
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Carson Kelly
Just had a idea to use one of those as a smuggling ship.
Jump-2 goes to random world to "Hunt" can land stuff outside of a spaceport.
Michael Reyes
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Connor Gray
FUCK yeah traveller thread
Btw can someone explain exactly what this is?
Cameron Cook
I think they'd still be a thing. Having air superiority gains you an advantage on the ground, but doesn't win the war by itself. Likewise for the edge of the atmosphere. If you have a dominating presence in the low orbit arena, you can probably deny your enemy use of his air fighters, but if he's got LEO zones that he controls, then he can use his air fighters for surprise strikes against your ground forces, whereas his LEO->ground strikes are telegraphed. (Beams will be scattered by enough atmosphere, IIRC, and missile platforms moving into firing position give them time to bunker down and man anti-missile defenses) I imagine you'd either come prepared to seize the upper atmosphere entirely, or else seize a part of it and then insert fighters in to support your ground forces. If cost is not an issue then, the first is easily the best option, and it's probably what the Imperium does. If you're a mercenary outfit, then you probably come prepared to do the second in support of local governments, though some mercs might specialize in planetary overwatch services.
Jordan Kelly
Whoa, hey, this is a blue board!
Austin Lee
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Christopher Evans
It's from Traveller5. Speculation is that it's an outline of future T5 adventure modules that will span the galaxy. I don' t know if that's true, but it's pretty cool either way.
I learned that the T5 CD is useful to grab the occasional table.
So I am glad my $100 was worth more then a door stop.
Luis Williams
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Christopher Lee
Will say the GURPS Merc supplement has some great campaign ideas, speaking of combat.
Grayson Brown
Star Mercs? I haven't got that. If you've got a PDF you can share, that'd be great; I could add it to the archives.
Asher Cox
I have it in physical form, but will need to see if I have it on PDF at home.
Isaac Lee
I have it with a PDF.
What the best way to share?
Nolan Perez
Step 1: Look it over to make sure there's no watermark with your name on there. Step 2: Send it to zippyshare or uploadmb, neither requires an account or anything. If you have a mega account, maybe use that and toss me a link to the file.
Adding it now. Man, I'm gonna have to sort the GURPS folder out a bit one of these days, it's starting to get a lot of stuff in there.
Jace Campbell
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Wyatt Hernandez
TPK P K
The 2 PCs (one Zhodani merchant, one uplifted ape marine) were able to kill 2 of the Leaper creatures, but while checking out a medbay a third creature jumped from the ceiling and incapacitated them both. RIP
Nicholas Anderson
is that book one i can use to play this or do i need another? i bought a while back at a book store but havent really read it
Jackson Ward
Yes, The Traveller Book is an all-in-one thing. You don't need anything else to play Classic Traveller, unless you want it. (Good stuff you could add on includes DGP's Universal Task Profile, the extra careers in Citizens of the Imperium, and maybe the simpler ship combat in Starter Traveller. None are necessary though)
Liam Perry
Damn. Hope they had fun. Thanks for the update, user.
When does the next batch go in?
Adam Reed
Thats pretty much it, one of my players is our usual DM and has come up with a campaign where we play as planetary defense forces on an agri world, so we're going to play that. More fun to be a player and means I dont have to prepare anything!
Kevin Hall
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Ryder Rivera
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Gabriel Sanchez
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Xavier Reyes
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Ian Bell
bump
Eli Reyes
bump
Isaiah Scott
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Jackson Lewis
>Scalies vs Furries Explain further
Aiden Gray
Its from GURPS Traveller Alien Races 4
Think that in the megalink
Thomas Brooks
During the Long Night which preceded the current empire, the Vargr rose to become a widespread starfaring power. In their explorations and (often) depredations into former Vilani and Rule of Man space, they would have encountered colonies of the Newts, who were widespread as bureaucratic servants of the former states. The Newts do not conquer worlds to own them in their entirety, but are content to put down colonies in the parts of such worlds that suit them and leave the rest to their frequent partners the Vilani or other Human offshoots. What the Newts do choose to settle, however, they protect fiercely.
Benjamin Rivera
They're aliens, and uplifted canines from Terra, respectively. Vargr are great, IMO. Familiar enough for players to reasonably play one, but weird enough to still be surprising and alien at the same time. I like that humans appear strange and monomaniacal to them.
Daniel Thomas
What said.
Newts (Aka Bwap's, or Bawapakerwa-a-a-awapawab) are alien species, they are happy to be the jr. partner with humans on a lot of worlds, as they are useful to humans and they like areas we don't like and vice versa.
Vargr are uplifted canines from terra. Traveller has a major plot point that humanity and other terra based life was spread by someone. They make good alien PCs and NPCs.
the image is of a Vargr patrol getting ambushed by Newts
Jason Thompson
One of the things I like about the Traveller aliens is how...strange humans look through their eyes. To the Vargr humans seem like a hive mind, with countless trillions working in unnatural unison in service of a leader few have even seen. An Aslan can not tell apart human sexes, but naturally makes all kinds of assumptions based on what people do. And to the K'kree the majority of humanity are a bunch of two legged satans.
Daniel Gray
The K'kree, especially, are interesting to think about when you try to get into their shoes. To them, all meat-eaters are regarded in kinda the same way as we used to regard apex-predators; kill on sight, wipe out completely if you can. Maybe worse, since we had an appreciation for the power, majesty, and intelligence of the apex predator; for them that's just replaced with primal evolutionary fear. Then, you take that mindset, and you put it into the conditions of the OTU, and suddenly their hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia makes a lot more sense- they live in a terrifying universe where not only are there space-faring predators who you're convinced want to eat you and must be exterminated to secure peace, but they are more numerous and technologically advanced than you, and in fact comprise the lion's share of the local territory.
Austin Lee
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Cameron Miller
Are there any good adventures involving the K'kree?
Robert Watson
Can't think of any off the top of my head. K'kree are, in many ways, rather challenging to roleplay effectively, for either a player or a GM; when you examine them closely, they're almost as alien as the Hivers. They've got a funky social order like the Aslan, are more susceptible to chemical agents due to their heightened olfactory senses, need large amounts of room to accommodate their claustrophobia in spacecraft and AFV's, and suffer extreme psychological distress from being alone.
I guess that could be a good setup for a campaign where they're just faceless opposition, though, with minimal roleplaying? Like, in one of the scenarios where the Imperium begins to fall apart, the k'kree could jump on that as their chance to finally purge the filthy meat-eating xenos threat.
Daniel Williams
Check out the CT module for them, it has a few
Jackson Brooks
>in one of the scenarios where the Imperium begins to fall apart, the k'kree could jump on that as their chance to finally purge the filthy meat-eating xenos threat This is exactly what happens. The first attempt late in the Rebellion period gets squashed by the still strong and perpetually paranoid Ley Sector fleet. The second attempt is a century later, after Virus flattened everything, and turns into a five sector spanning war.
Michael Johnson
Oh, wow. I don't know how to feel about... calling that? Is it even still "calling it" when this stuff was written years ago?
Whatever; the important thing is that it's really cool that that's the direction they took it! That's just full of great prompts; like trying to hide from k'kree patrols with excellent smell in a bombed-out city, or boarding a hostile k'kree ship and going for the holographics controls instead of the bridge. I can only imagine how they handle aerospace stuff- maybe they have drones only, as opposed to manned fighters? I wonder if one could induce debilitating psychological trauma in a guerrilla war with them by just concealing meat ultra-slow-cookers everywhere, so their noses are always full of a smell which induces panic.
Christopher Cox
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Adrian Rodriguez
>Capture K'kree >Isolate him or her >force feed it meat >roast it and eat the K'kree
Threaten to beam the video to K'kree space or get 1 billion credits.
get space marined
Cooper Edwards
Yeah, you'd probably get space marined, since they're not going to believe you have some crazy interstellar communications tech that nobody else has. You'd have to mail the video by ship to get it to the K'Kree.
David Fisher
True, Just have it recorded and pre-sent to a number of worlds to be released at X time.
Easton Davis
bumping with a B5 Webm
Dylan Richardson
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Brayden Perez
So, I know that these threads must get this a lot. But is there a generally agreed-upon "best" edition of Traveller?
Henry Morgan
How suited is the basic 2300ad setting for the standard Traveller free trader/tramp steamer game? I just get a feeling that nearly all spaceships are either government or corporate, so would I be better advancing the setting so spaceships are more ubiquitous? Or should I just strip-mine it for ideas for an original setting?
Lincoln Evans
Most popular editions are Mongoose 1e, Classic, and your veteran referee's frankenstein edition where he took bits of other editions he liked and bolted them on.
I don't know much about 2300ad, but isn't that a whole different timeline?
Andrew Butler
2300ad's basically an alternate setting for traveller ain't it? The most recent version is just a supplement for MongTrav1 after all. I figured here would be the place to ask I guess
Logan Harris
Yeah, this would be the place. The threads are a little dead of late, but we've had 2300ad guys pass through now and then, so maybe one will show up.
John Walker
Classic, Classic/Mega, and Mongoose.
Of course, there is GURPS as well, but Gurps is something you love her hate.
Kevin Hall
>Is it even still "calling it" when this stuff was written years ago? Since some people dislike the Rebellion and Virus, and what they do to the setting, to the point of denying the existence of those entire editions, you get a pass.
The K'kree attacks are presaged by the adventure in MegaTraveller Journal #4, in which we learn about a splinter of K'kree known as the Lords of Thunder. The first attack into Ley is described briefly as a handful of TAS News items. The second and much more successful campaign in the 1230s is the subject of the 1248 book.
Evan Gray
Wow, there's a whole splatbook devoted to this? I gotta look that up!
David Young
bump
Juan Reed
1248 isn't just about that, but it features heavily in the recent events.
Colton Campbell
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Tyler Reyes
Army Major Baron Bruno Ota 55A36C Age 26 2 terms Cr45,000
Skills: Fwd Obsvr-1, Halberd-1, Rifle-3, SMG-1
Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service. Promoted to Captain. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Promoted to Major. Denied reenlistment after second term.
What should be his background history, star officer who was caught with another officer's wife and cashiered? Wrongly blamed for something?
Ayden Cook
Okay, my first suggestion was all written, when I suddenly noticed that he's a Baron, and that threw a monkeywrench in the whole thing. Man, you rolled well, huh?
I'll have to think about this for a bit. It's bound to have some political elements, because normally a Baron is given a fair bit of leeway. Unless he did something publically disgraceful. Hmm.
I'm thinking maybe he's expressed some radical political position and it's made him persona non grata. Supporting some planet's secession movement, perhaps? That would be the kind of thing they couldn't just boot him summarily for, but they could certainly refuse him upon re-enlistment. Also comes with a plot hook as he may be trying to get people together to help his pet political cause, and support independence for the mistreated people of [insert planet here].
Tyler Mitchell
He's a baron so he's inevitably going to claim it was something outrageous, whatever the truth happens to be.
Gabriel Collins
Okay, this is what I am going with. Decided that he going to be a NPC.
Baron Bruno Ota enlisted in the army. Due to both his high birth and general skills, he gain a commission, and soon by the 2nd term was a Major.
He began to carry out Human smuggling operations on (Insert rural world) where displaced civilians and female POWS where placed on jump ships and sent to (wealthy world.) He used this money to outfit local milita's to help end the insurgency.
It came to the authorities attention when some of these smuggled persons died in faulty low passages. Due to him being a Baron it was hushed up and he was reassigned to a new planet, but when it came to his reenlistment, he was denied.
Carson Johnson
I liked the vector ship combat, but the amount of table you needed could easily get out of hand
Luis Sullivan
T:2300 is a continuation of Twilight 2000. It has its own rules set and background, completely separate timeline. Even the jump drive technology is notably different.
So yeah, very alternate setting. I shudder to think what Mongoose may have done to it.
Robert Torres
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Robert Martin
Damn, nice roll
Jordan Morales
The Silent Death 2e setting is a sequel to the old Space Master setting, but Traveller would work just fine.
Carter Sullivan
Strangely enough, I never did play the RPG, but had a lot of great times with the Snapshot spin off/supplement. Half of the fun was even in designing new ships to murder each other on.
Nolan Anderson
Snapshot is pretty cool. Some guys on youtube did a whole Post-apoc campaign with it:
