Traveller the New Era

[LeperColony]

I am running a Traveller: The New Era campaign on Tuesday nights, from 5pm to about 8-9pm PST. Our next gaming session is March 11th. Knowledge of the rules or setting is not necessary. Also, I have the ultimate package, so nothing is required of you beyond the basic FG program.

For those unfamiliar with TNE, it is set in the Traveller universe, in the aftermath of a galactic civil war. Interstellar society was first ruined by fifteen years of unrelenting warfare, then finished off by the accidental release of Virus, a self-aware and largely insane computer program that destroyed most everyone and everything, and infected much of what remained.

The game will center around the crew of a Free Trader, a small merchant vessel, who awake from suspended animation to find themselves in a post-apocalyptic galaxy.

Currently we have three players, with room for a couple more. Knowledge of the Traveller setting would be useful for role-playing purposes, but isn't necessary. If you're interested, please feel free to contact me or post here! Thanks!

[Andraax]

Sounds cool, I've always liked this setting. How frequently do you play (every week, every other week, something else)? I'd love to sign up!

BTW, what ruleset are you using?

[LeperColony]

Our goal is weekly, though given the realities of real life, two games out of three weeks would not be a bad ratio. Any less than every other week isn't particularly desirable. We've already met twice, the first as a meet and greet, the second to generate characters.

As far as rules go, we're using Traveller: The New Era. Unless you meant FG rules set, in which case I have to admit some ignorance because I just signed up for it.

Are you familiar at all with TNE? If so, you can create a character on your own. If not, I can help you over Skype.

[Andraax]

I run the TNE-RCES mail list online, I'm just a tad familiar - just haven't played in ages... I can help you get setup with FG if you want.

What does the ship need in terms of a new crew member?

[LeperColony]

I'd definitely appreciate any help with FG.

As for crew wise, if you're familiar with TNE at all then you probably know that the careers allow for a lot of skills, so it's pretty easy to get some overlap. Even with only three people, they basically have the skills needed to run the ship at a minimum, but none of them are really very specialized, except for one player who went pretty deep into medical type skills. If anything, they might be lacking on the dirtside skills. None of them took a military career (though one did take Rebel then Bounty Hunter) or any of the social careers, and nobody is currently playing a psychic though one person did toy with the idea.

Conceptually the players are Remnants who have been in cold sleep for 70 years. We're setting the game in the Old Expanses, but it isn't a Reformation Coalition campaign.

[Andraax]

OK, I'll look at doing something ex-military to be the "hired gun" when we're dirtside and handling ship's security I guess.

[Aralvar]

Man, this sounds great! Can't wait to play!

[Ksathra]

I just joined a Classic Traveller game on Wednesday, I'd not mind another one on Tuesday though. Sounds interesting to see the 2 different settings and rulesets and see their difference. I've only ever looked at second edition traveller's before though honestly, so probably would need a bit of help making a character.

[Andraax]

If it's the Wednesday game I recently left, it's only Traveller in a tangential way; I wouldn't call it "Classic Traveller".

[Ksathra]

Heh. I guess that might mean you're the reason FG has a Traveller's modpack. And yeah, The rules are skirted plenty in their game, it would be interesting to see the TNE version.

[Andraax]

It's not just the rules - many of the key foundations of the Traveller Universe are just ignored. I mean, everywhere you turn are people loaded up with nanotech throughout their bodies or extensive genetic manipulation. In Classic Traveller, the former would be considered robots and not be granted any civil rights, and the latter would be seen as an abomination and shunned. While both exist in Classic Traveller, nanotech typically limited to uses like autofacs and autodocs, not for reprogramming and enhancing entire bodies, and genetic manipulation is limited to things like correcting genetic defects, etc, and non-visible adjustments (like some disease resistance, etc). The Imperials shunned the Solomani in part because of their use of genetic manipulation and the Zhodani in part because of their reliance on robots.

[Ksathra]

Ah. I've only played the 1 session so far.

[LeperColony]

In some ways Traveller is very much a product of its time. Written in the late '70s, it has interstellar travel, but it also has the average ship computer weighing many tons. Things like nanotech and cybernetic enhancements will seem out of place to many Traveller players, especially the old time players.

At any rate, if you're interested in playing, please send me a private message with an email address, so I can add you to the communications.

We don't have a game session scheduled for Tuesday the 4th, but we can use that date to make characters for the new players.

[Ksathra]

Sounds good, Sent you my Email and Skype info too.

[Andraax]

I can join in on the 4th. You need to figure out which ruleset you want to use with FG. The CoreRPG ruleset is just a basic, generic ruleset that has limited support for more free form character sheets. The Classic Traveller ruleset is more customized for Traveller, but might not work for the TNE mechanics (I haven't tried it out using those mechanics).

As far as the nanotech / robotic thing goes, the Shudusham Concords in Yr-110, plus the proclamation of Emperor Cleon in Yr17 pretty much seals the fact that too much circuitry in your body makes you a robot and hence a piece of property in the Third Imperium. It's part of the Traveller Universe's history. It's not that there was no mention of it in Traveller cannon - to the contrary it was brought up a number of times in canon books over the years, including at least two characters that I can remember in published adventures that had to keep their extensive artificial modifications hidden or risk being seized as "property" and enslaved. There are similar "historical" reasons for the shunning of the visible genetic manipulations.

[LeperColony]

Nobody said they didn't address robotics or cybernetics in Traveller, just that it is an underdeveloped concept in the game, likely dating to its late '70s origins.

Regarding the rules set, it sounds like the CoreRPG is the one I'll have to use, unless I learn how to build an entire TNE system, and even if that should happen, it won't be any time soon.

[LeperColony]

Here are the careers the players chose for the three characters we currently have:

1) Undergraduate Degree / Medical School / Doctor / Scout Service
2) Tough / Rebel / Bounty Hunter / Bounty Hunter
3) Military Academy / Merchant Marine / Flight Academy / Trader / Trader

Between the three of them they have the basic skills to run a ship and fix things, strong medical expertise, and a basic ability to talk and shoot.

Insofar as "what hasn't been picked," nobody really focused on social careers or scientific careers, and as you can see nobody went the military strong man route.