Category Archives: Traveller

Posts about, related to, or featuring content for Classic Traveller and other similar science fiction role playing games.

Classic Traveller Nostalgia Photography

Unlike my B/X stuff, I still have the box that my Classic Traveller set came in. It’s beat to hell and held together with silver duct tape, but it still holds everything I ever owned for the grandaddy of science fiction RPGs.

Though the Little Black Books aren’t really all that photogenic, I have always adored the simplicity of their graphic design.

I never really messed around with any of the books after 1-3, though I did own Mercenary and High Guard. Citizens of the Imperium was my absolute favorite supplement, and the Paranoia Press Scouts & Assassins got a fair amount of use in my games, mostly owing to the Martial Arts rules contained within. Supplement 1 was always good for grabbing an NPC or two from when needed.

I had one official adventure (the double-adventure Marooned/Marooned Alone) and the book of adventure seeds known as 76 Patrons, though I never really used either. Homebrewed settings and adventures have been my focus pretty much from day 1 of my gaming life.

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Traveller: Pedro’s Angels

Wherein your humble scribe presents a group of characters for (classic) Traveller. All of these were rolled up by-the-book using Book 1: Characters And Combat and/or Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium.

Jaunting about the sector aboard his private yacht, El Alma y La Cruz, Baron Pedro Miguel Ramirez and his lovely companions (mís ángeles, he calls them wryly) take on missions and causes that otherwise might go unaided. The Baron feels that he and his friends are destined to help those who cannot otherwise help themselves. This sometimes puts the gang on the wrong side of the law, of course – especially when the law itself is the problem. But there’s something to be said for having strong ties to the Imperial family.

Baron Pedro Miguel Ramirez
89A86C Age 30 3 Terms (Service: Noble, Final Rank: Baron)
Hunting-1, AutoPistol-1, Bribery-2, Engineering-1, Pilot-1
Yacht
Cr250,000

Lady Solara Marte
5A348B Age 26 2 Term (Service: Noble, Final Rank: Knight)
Hunting-1, Hovercraft-1, Pilot-1, Jack of All Trades-1, AutoPistol-1
Cr150,000

April Murphree
958B37 Age 34 4 Terms (Service: Marines, Final Rank: Lieutenant)
Cutlass-1, Revolver-1, Mechanical-2, SMG-1, Ground Car-1, Jack of All Trades-1, Tactics-1, Electronics-1
Travellers’
Cr25,000

Louise Helms
3659A8 Age 34 4 Terms (Service: Scientist, Final Rank: -)
Computer-1, Survival-1, Navigation-1, Electronics-2, Jack of All Trades-1, AutoPistol-1, Medical-2
AutoPistol
Cr6,000

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Worlds Apart In Print

Ever since I was a wee lad I thought that Traveller could easily power a groovy little fantasy game, but other than a bunch of daydreaming and the occasional 1/4 page of initial design notes I never did anything about it. Thankfully, professional game designers are better at making things happen than I am…

Worlds Apart This morning brought the news that Worlds Apart, the OGL (Mongoose) Traveller-based fantasy game from Joseph Browning & Expeditious Retreat Press, will be available in print in game stores in the near future.

It’s also already available at Lulu, if you can’t wait until it shows up in your friendly local game store to get your sweaty little geek hands on it.

Worlds Apart has been available in PDF for a while now (including the semi-mandatory free, no art version), but having this show up in stores in print is pretty darn awesome. So if you want to check out the game before dedicating any of your precious silver to it, go snag that free version. It calls to you like the siren song of the sea, don’tchaknow?

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(My Dreams Of) Gaming Plans For 2012 (Because You Care)

So the Thanksgiving game happened. It was a WWII commando raid using a Mini Six/D6 Adventure mashup and it was a blast. But I’m not here to talk about it. Not right now, anyway. I’m gunning to do that a little later on, when I’m ready to post the materials I put together for the game. Nope, instead I’m here to talk about what I’m hoping to run next.

First up, sometime during the Winter Solstice Holidays break, I’m hoping to pull off a BASH game for a friend, his 13 year old son, and maybe a few other folks. I’m currently thinking Golden Age/WWII supers kicking fascist ass in Europe. But the ideas are swirling and unformed at this point, so who knows what (if anything) will ultimately come to pass?

After that, I’m pondering a few possibilities:

  • Some kind of hard(-ish) SciFi using good ol’ Classic Traveller and some Stars Without Number action
  • Labyrinth Lord/AEC romps through either the Against The Giants series or maybe Castle Amber, The Lost City, or some other classic modules
  • A BRP– (or possibly BoL-) based, Mythic Russia-fueled, Russian fantasy game
  • A Mini Six (with add-ons from Open D6) or Mercenaries, Spies, And Private Eyes 80s-style espionage game
  • A Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands miniseries (probably not until the CoC game I’m playing in wraps up, though)
  • A BRP/Renaissance (or maybe Tunnels & Trolls or Honor + Intrigue) black powder fantasy adventure
  • Droids. Seriously. Either with the original rules (unlikely) or with something else (D6, maybe?)

just to name a few (in no particular order). All of this is subject to change (i.e., my whims and interests) and player buy-in, of course.

That’s Great And All, But What About Giving Us Some Sweet Gaming Content, Pao?

Yeah, I know. My content output has absolutely tanked of late (and, honestly, not-so-late). I’m struggling with that, really. Part of me wants to be cranking out stuff like I had been, but another part just isn’t inclined to spend the time on it. So it’s not quite burnout, per se. It’s more a case of conflicting interests and such. So to answer the question that I asked on no one in particular’s behalf, “Reply hazy. Try again later.”

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Traveller: The FitzLogan Gang

Wherein your humble scribe presents a group of characters for (classic) Traveller. All of these were rolled up by-the-book from Book 1: Characters And Combat and/or Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium.

For years Logan “Fitz” FitzLogan was one of the more notorious con men in the Claybourne Subsector, but he’s been straight ever since his last conviction was overturned due to technical issues surrounding the case. He was last seen traveling in the company of a couple of lovely graduate students and a retired Army Major with a thing for guns, but the Alliance Patrol keeps losing their tracer on him somehow. Surely that’s just a coincidence.

Logan “Fitz” FitzLogan
877596 Age 34 4 Terms (Service: Rogue)
Streetwise-2, Forgery-2, Computer-1, AutoPistol-1, Liaison-1, Carousing-2
Cr110,000

Natsuko Coats
8A69B9 Age 30 3 Terms (Service: Scientist)
Computer-3, Electronic-1, Dagger-1, AutoPistol-1
Cr51,000

Jennifer Rebryk
886CB5 Age 26 2 Terms (Service: Scientist)
Computer-1, Jack of All Trades-1, AutoPistol-1, Medical-1
Cr12,000

Maxwell Lozyk
A87768 Age 30 3 Terms (Service: Army, Final Rank: Major)
Rifle-1, SMG-1, Shotgun-1, AutoRifle-1, Carbine-1, Mechanical-1, Electronic-1, Air/Raft-1
Cr22,000

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Traveller AR!

Alright, soldiers. It’s time to talk seriously about your future in the Imperium. Specifically, let’s discuss your plans for after you muster out. Some of you may want to look into free trading. Some of you may be in search of mercenary tickets. Some of you might just want to wander. In any case, what you’ll almost definitely want to do is put some credits in your pocket. No matter what your goals are, you should probably take a look at this:

It’s the teaser trailer for the just announced Traveller AR, which is currently being hyped at Booth 415 of the Screenburn Arcade at SXSW Interactive in sunny Austin, TX.

This is an iPhone/iPod Touch game that is being developed by actual pen & paper gamers who know Traveller and love it. Big Daddy Marc Miller is involved. As is the Loren Wiseman, who was actually hanging out at the booth today. Take a look at the site and sign up for the beta (if you happen to be the sort who has an appropriate device at your disposal, anyway – they tell me they hope to support other platforms eventually, but it’s all iLand for now). Kicking off your career with a bonus Cr1,000,000 is a good thing.

I saw a demo and this game looks sharp. I’ll be sure to update y’all when I get going in the beta (which is expected to get underway in May – just so you know the perspective in which to keep things). But seriously, do sign up for the beta. That way we can all bust up the Third Imperium in proper grognard style.

Interesting note: One of the artists working on the game used to play RPGs with Joe G. Browning of Expeditious Retreat Press. So there’s some additional old school style cred with Traveller AR.

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Traveller: The Professional Athlete Career (And Some Barnstorming Ceroballers)

It’s spring, or close to it, and that means that The Venomous Pao’s fancy turns to baseball. He can’t help it. And though that may make him a little odd for a raging geek blogger, that’s just who he is. On the plus side, he’s channeled this quirk into the creation of a new prior career for his favoritest old school SciFI game – Classic Traveller. And now… without further ado… here’s the Professional Athlete career (eer-eer-eer)!

Professional Athlete
Enlistment 9+
DM of +1 if STR or DEX 9+
DM of +2 if END 10+

Survival* 6+
DM +2 if END 9+

Position 8+
DM +1 if INT 9+

Promotion 9+
DM +1 if STR or DEX 11+

Re-enlist (4+terms served)+

*Failing a survival roll for a Professional Athlete seldom results in death. Instead, this result typically indicates a career ending injury or, less frequently, a scandal that forces the player out of the sport. On a failed survival roll, throw 10+ for a scandal-based end to the career (which reduces the character’s SOC by 1D). Otherwise a CEI reduces all physical attributes by 1D each. Only on a throw of 2 is character death indicated.

Ranks
Rank 0 Minor Leaguer (Scrub)
Rank 1 Journeyman
Rank 2 Regular
Rank 3 Star
Rank 4 All-Star
Rank 5 Superstar
Rank 6 Legend

Material Benefits
1 Low Psg
2 Mid Psg
3 High Psg
4 +1 Soc
5 +1 Int
6 Travellers’
7 Sponsorship Deal
Characters of Rank 5 or 6 are allowed a DM of +1 on this table.

Cash Benefits
1 1,000
2 5,000
3 10,000
4 20,000
5 50,000
6 100,000
7 200,000

Characters with Gambling or who have retired are allowed a DM of +1 on this table.

Sponsorship Deal: The character – so long as he or she maintains a professional public reputation – earns money from his or her sponsorship of various businesses and their goods. Characters of Rank 5 earn Cr 20,000 annually and those of Rank 6 earn Cr 50,000 per year.

Rank And Service Skills
Minor Leaguer: Athletics-1
Journeyman: Sport-1
Superstar: +1 Soc

Acquired Skills Table

Personal Development Table
1 +1 Stren
2 +1 Dext
3 +1 Endur
4 +1 Intel
5 Athletics
6 Brawling

Service Skills Table
1 Athletics
2 Carousing
3 Sport
4 Sport
5 Gambling
6 Streetwise

Advanced Education Table
1 Vehicle
2 Liaison
3 Recruiting
4 +1 Educ
5 Gun Cbt
6 Bribery

Advanced Education Table (EDU 8+ Only)
1 Medical
2 Instruction
3 Jack-o-T
4 Forgery
5 Admin
6 Pilot

Athletics: The individual is a trained athlete. This skill should be used as a favorable DM in situations that test athletic ability.

Sport: The individual is skilled in the rules and performance of a specific sport, which must be specified immediately upon receipt of this skill. DMs based on specific situations should be generated, and Sport skill should be used as a favorable DM. This skill may also prove useful for certain jobs.

The New Chuzaen Traveling Knights

Below are a few key players on the New Chuzaen Traveling Knights – a team of retired Ceroball Players who are barnstorming through the the Claybourne Subsector rather than growing up and getting “real” jobs now that their pro days are over. There’s no telling what kind of trouble a group like this can get into while traveling between systems. And sometimes they might even need to book passage with a scurvy crew of ex-Scouts, Marines, and the like.

#29 Sir Edward “Eddie Knightblade” Falshine IV
8AC97A Age 22 1 Term (Service: Professional Athlete, Final Rank: Minor Leaguer)
Athletics-3, Liaison-1
Cr100,000

#6 Frederick “Flexi” Fogel
898458 Age 26 2 Term (Service: Professional Athlete, Final Rank: Regular)
Athletics-1, Brawling-1, Ceroball-3, Carousing-1, Ground Car-1
Cr2,000

#18 Marion “Ox” Kozloski
B7A954 Age 38 5 Term (Service: Professional Athlete, Final Rank: All-Star)
Athletics-2, Ceroball-3, Liaison-1, Bribery-1, Gambling-1, Recruiting-1
Cr120,000

#44 Genero “Dash” Di Miasi
8A9786 Age 30 3 Term (Service: Professional Athlete, Final Rank: Regular)
Athletics-2, Ceroball-2, Recruiting-1, Instruction-1, Admin-1
Cr60,000

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Traveller: Baron Furnols’ Retinue

Wherein your humble scribe presents a group of characters for (classic) Traveller. All of these were rolled up by-the-book from Book 1: Characters And Combat and/or Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium.

Bored to tears in the Claybourne Subsector, Baron Ignasi Ot Furnols and his latest group of playthings, er, friends, have found themselves on Albian with little to do but wait for the next liner headed somewhere interesting. But wait! It turns out there’s a branch of the Psionics Institute operating here, and on a whim the Baron himself funds everyone’s training. This should make life a but more interesting for those who come into contact with this particular entourage…

Baron Ignasi Ot Furnols
7A77AC Age 30 3 Terms (Service: Nobles, Final Rank: Baron)
Bribery-1, Foil-1, Brawling-1
Psionic Strength: 8
Psionic Talents: Telekinesis-1, Telepathy-1
Cr250,000

Florian Krusinski
78B656 Age 26 2 Term (Service: Army, Final Rank: Captain)
Rifle-1, SMG-1, Gambling-1, Bayonet-1, Tactics-1
Psionic Strength: 5
Psionic Talents: Telekinesis-1, Telepathy-1
Cr15,000

Bernadette Piper
AA6884 Age 26 2 Terms (Service: Merchants, Final Rank: 3rd Officer)
Jack of All Trades-1, Air/Raft-1, Streetwise-1, Mechanical-1, Pilot-1
Psionic Strength: 9
Psionic Talents: Telepathy-1, Teleportation-1
Cr20,000

Masumi Sandoval
6C8397 Age 22 1 Terms (Service: Army, Final Rank: Captain)
Rifle-1, SMG-1, Mechanical-2, Tactics-1, Medical-1
Psionic Strength: 10
Psionic Talents: Clairvoyance-1, Telekinesis-1, Telepathy 1
Cr20,000

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Traveller: The Crew Of The Free Trader Nobuharu

Wherein, in honor of the currently still free (through December 31st) classic Traveller Starter Edition, your humble scribe presents a group of characters for (classic) Traveller. All of these were rolled up by-the-book using said Starter Edition.

Working their way through the Claybourne Subsector, the crew of the Free Trader Nobuharu – brainiacs all – have found themselves a bit short on this month’s payment. Not wanting to lose possession of the one thing that sets them apart from the rest of the rabble, these streetwise geniuses have stumbled upon the Governor of Posada’s need to have a trio of “embarrassing” individuals escorted “elsewhere” in the subsector. The ladies in question don’t seem particularly difficult to deal with, and their high passages – as well as a generous “discretion bonus” – have been paid for in cash. What could possibly go wrong?

Wes Galinol
A67C78 Age 34 4 Terms (Service: Merchants, Final Rank: Captain)
Jack of All Trades-2, Streetwise-3, Steward-1, Pilot-2
Free Trader
Cr25,000

Vicki Bergeron
548A79 Age 38 5 Terms (Service: Merchants, Final Rank: 1st Officer)
Streetwise-2, Navigation-3, Steward-1, Jack of All Trades-1, Electronic-1, Pilot-1, Gunnery-2
Low Psg
Cr50,000

Ulysses Kielty
685B98 Age 22 1 Terms (Service: Navy, Final Rank: Lieutenant)
Medical-1, Navigation-1, Engineering-1, Computer-1
Cr20,000

Octavio Basilio
C73BB6 Age 38 5 Term (Service: Marines, Final Rank: Force Commander)
Cutlass-1, Leader-4, Admin-1, Tactics-3, Revolver-1
Cutlass, TAS
Cr30,000

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Traveller: Sneaking Stinson Through The Stratosphere

Wherein, in honor of the currently free classic Traveller Starter Edition, your humble scribe presents a group of three characters for (classic) Traveller. All of these were rolled up by-the-book using said Starter Edition.

Mustered out on Budapest in the Claybourne Subsector, this group of miscreants is looking for work. One of them overheard a little rumor in the B-class starport bar that there’s a scientist in the capital city who is looking for a group to escort her (or him?) offworld so that he can conduct his research without further interference by the planet’s highly bureaucratic government. Of course, just finding this scientist (Stinson? Simson? What was that name, exactly?) will be hard enough. Getting him (or her?) through the red tape to get offworld might prove to be nearly impossible. Maybe they’ll just go back to drinking until an easier patron comes along…

Ernesto Meltzer
686A48 Age 22 1 Term (Service: Marines, Final Rank: NCO)
Cutlass-1
Cr5,000

Keisha Benton
8CB838 Age 38 5 Terms (Service: Merchants, Final Rank: 2nd Officer)
Steward-2, Steetwise-1, AutoPistol-1, Electronics-2, Jack of All Trades-2
AutoPistol
Cr80,000

Katie Craine
78B674 Age 30 3 Terms (Service: Army, Final Rank: Major)
Rifle-1, SMG-1, Blade-1, Forward Observer-1, Mechanical-2, Tactics-1
Low Psg
Cr30,000

Rodney Calastine
7C78A3 Age 26 2 Terms (Service: Navy, Final Rank: Lieutenant)
Medical-1, Engineering-1, Navigation-1, Pilot-2
Cr15,000

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