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Post by chicagowiz on May 8, 2023 8:41:21 GMT -6
I need another campaign like I need another mortgage and yet here we are... my brain can't stop reading my LBBs, the various CT PDFs I have, or mentally mapping out how this would work, etc. A brief perusal of the web doesn't show anyone else really putting time (or documenting) such a campaign, so the brain just is spinning how it would start off and how it would progress. How I would mash up ideas from TOS and TRS to make the BSG that I want to make. This is all WIP - I've never GM'd Traveller, so I'm hoping to watch some videos of actual-play, or maybe kibbitz on a game or two. I'm checking out Frank's old pbp game as well, just to get a feel for how this runs. More to come? Maybe this becomes a con-game or one-shot? I don't know where this all leads. Here's the premise: Campaign Overview:What if the Galactica and Pegasus weren’t the only capital ships to escape the Cylons, along with other refugee ships in tow? A Light Battlestar, the Lance, managed to survive a Cylon Raider assault during the Battle of Cimtar, but with its jump drive severely damaged, it and its accompanying fleet are being forced to play a game of cat-and-mouse. Following incomplete star-charts, due to computer damage, they are searching for a place to rest, refit and recover so that they can find a new home, far away from the Cylons. Chargen and “Why Are We Here”All sorts of backgrounds are possible, but perhaps for the short intro adventure, being part of the service makes sense. So run the chargen as RAW from CT 77 or 81. Weapon damage will be 81. Can have laser skills but not likely to have them starting out. Why are characters of multiple backgrounds mashed together? It’s the end of the world! Refugees from all over, in a rag-tag fleet guided by the LBS-109 Lance. And since its jump drive is on the fritz, you’ve been “voluntold” into a team to help find parts - somewhere - somehow. HomebaseIn this campaign, since the “homebase” *IS* the Lance, I’ll dedicate a bit more time to that ship, and its refugee fleet. LBS-109 Lance, Valkyrie class light battlestarCaptain: Commander Tonya Middel XO: Colonel Alejandro Brusco CAG: Colonel Lucina Coraggioso Chief Engineer: Chief Misha Chamra Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Gerald Macomely LBS109 was originally build early on for the first Cylon War. It served with distinction across many campaigns and is a decorated ship. The damage to the port nameplate on the flightpod was never fixed, as a remembrance to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to the Colonies. Other info on the homebase:- 148 refugee ships. Some are not jump-drive capable and have to berth with the Lance or other ships, such as civilian Jump Carriers.
- Approximately 48,000 survivors across the ships and Lance.
- The game would start in the outer Oort cloud of the Cyrranus system (location of the 12 colonies).
- Humankind is not alone in this universe, there are other species! Cylons are creations of man. Most species are organic and have outlawed AI and sentient/synthetics.
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 8, 2023 17:52:40 GMT -6
I need another campaign like I need another mortgage and yet here we are... my brain can't stop reading my LBBs, the various CT PDFs I have, or mentally mapping out how this would work, etc. A brief perusal of the web doesn't show anyone else really putting time (or documenting) such a campaign, so the brain just is spinning how it would start off and how it would progress. How I would mash up ideas from TOS and TRS to make the BSG that I want to make. This is all WIP - I've never GM'd Traveller, so I'm hoping to watch some videos of actual-play, or maybe kibbitz on a game or two. I'm checking out Frank's old pbp game as well, just to get a feel for how this runs. More to come? Maybe this becomes a con-game or one-shot? I don't know where this all leads. Here's the premise: Campaign Overview:What if the Galactica and Pegasus weren’t the only capital ships to escape the Cylons, along with other refugee ships in tow? A Light Battlestar, the Lance, managed to survive a Cylon Raider assault during the Battle of Cimtar, but with its jump drive severely damaged, it and its accompanying fleet are being forced to play a game of cat-and-mouse. Following incomplete star-charts, due to computer damage, they are searching for a place to rest, refit and recover so that they can find a new home, far away from the Cylons. Chargen and “Why Are We Here”All sorts of backgrounds are possible, but perhaps for the short intro adventure, being part of the service makes sense. So run the chargen as RAW from CT 77 or 81. Weapon damage will be 81. Can have laser skills but not likely to have them starting out. Why are characters of multiple backgrounds mashed together? It’s the end of the world! Refugees from all over, in a rag-tag fleet guided by the LBS-109 Lance. And since its jump drive is on the fritz, you’ve been “voluntold” into a team to help find parts - somewhere - somehow. HomebaseIn this campaign, since the “homebase” *IS* the Lance, I’ll dedicate a bit more time to that ship, and its refugee fleet. LBS-109 Lance, Valkyrie class light battlestarCaptain: Commander Tonya Middel XO: Colonel Alejandro Brusco CAG: Colonel Lucina Coraggioso Chief Engineer: Chief Misha Chamra Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Gerald Macomely LBS109 was originally build early on for the first Cylon War. It served with distinction across many campaigns and is a decorated ship. The damage to the port nameplate on the flightpod was never fixed, as a remembrance to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to the Colonies. Other info on the homebase:- 148 refugee ships. Some are not jump-drive capable and have to berth with the Lance or other ships, such as civilian Jump Carriers.
- Approximately 48,000 survivors across the ships and Lance.
- The game would start in the outer Oort cloud of the Cyrranus system (location of the 12 colonies).
- Humankind is not alone in this universe, there are other species! Cylons are creations of man. Most species are organic and have outlawed AI and sentient/synthetics.
Excellent, I love seeing folks explore CT in non-Third Imperium settings. I'm not familiar with BSG enough to know how many dtons a Battlestar would be in CT terms: Azhanti High Lightning sized (60Ktons, crew of ~750)? Do you plan to use S4 (Citizens of the Imperium), or just the 3LBB's? If you've never run CT before I'd advise against using chargen from Books 4 - 7, which are much lengthier and lead to characters with about twice as many skills/characteristic increases as Book 1 & S4. There are some helpful tools out there for running CT RAW, and much like OD&D you have to fill in some blanks (e.g., there's no "standard" skill system, but each skill works on its own terms). |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 8, 2023 18:51:06 GMT -6
Excellent, I love seeing folks explore CT in non-Third Imperium settings. I'm not familiar with BSG enough to know how many dtons a Battlestar would be in CT terms: Azhanti High Lightning sized (60Ktons, crew of ~750)? Do you plan to use S4 (Citizens of the Imperium), or just the 3LBB's? If you've never run CT before I'd advise against using chargen from Books 4 - 7, which are much lengthier and lead to characters with about twice as many skills/characteristic increases as Book 1 & S4. There are some helpful tools out there for running CT RAW, and much like OD&D you have to fill in some blanks (e.g., there's no "standard" skill system, but each skill works on its own terms). The folks over at the Traveller Discord server gave me a few books to consider, but I think for starting out, I don't need to worry about tonnage and specs for the LBS-109 Lance. I mean, it's not like the characters are gonna be buying one  No, I figure I can reskin something to be a Viper, something to be a Raptor (I'm mashing both series and using ships from both) and something to be a Cylon Raider. For the beginning, the players would have to deal with the fact that the Lance can't jump... so they need to figure where/how to get parts! I'm very much a build-as-I-go kinda DM, similar to what I did for my AD&D campaign and what I'm doing with my OD&D campaign. Seems like CT will allow me that. So probably the 3 LBBs for starting out. Maybe I'll add in things from the other books as we go along. I did notice that about the skills, but I like that ambiguity! Seems like 5, 8 or 11 are the magic numbers, and tbh, if someone has a skill, I'm not rolling dice unless they're doing some extraordinary or failure is interesting or they in bad circumstances. So I think we're OK in that area? Really, it's chargen and combat I'll brush up on, and I think the rest is more about generating NPCs and situations. General GM stuff. Thanks for the advice! What tools were you thinking of? |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 9, 2023 3:43:30 GMT -6
I did notice that about the skills, but I like that ambiguity! Seems like 5, 8 or 11 are the magic numbers, and tbh, if someone has a skill, I'm not rolling dice unless they're doing some extraordinary or failure is interesting or they in bad circumstances. So I think we're OK in that area? Really, it's chargen and combat I'll brush up on, and I think the rest is more about generating NPCs and situations. General GM stuff. Thanks for the advice! What tools were you thinking of? I have a couple of nicely formatted CT aids that appear to be no longer available on-line: what's the best way to post them here? They're fan creations from ~15 years ago, and it looks like the creator has moved on to Mongoose Traveller 2e. But the Tales to Astound! blog has a nice series of articles and play aids too. Here're a couple of summaries of skills in CT below, and since you're starting with Book 1 characters only the rule to keep in mind is that all PCs are considered to have skill level 0 in all Book 1 weapons. The Classic Traveller Skill SystemRegarding Skills in Classic Traveller |
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Post by Finarvyn on May 9, 2023 4:40:40 GMT -6
Let me know if you decide to run something here on the boards while you decide if it's worth running at a convention. I can open up a space in the PBP section.  |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 9, 2023 7:18:21 GMT -6
Let me know if you decide to run something here on the boards while you decide if it's worth running at a convention. I can open up a space in the PBP section. This is revenge for the whole 3D printer thing, isn't it, you scallywag! I won't mention that the entire dungeon for the Moathouse is printed and about to be primed and painted... In all seriousness, this is still a mental exercise, but I would want to run it face to face in all its ugly glory because that's how I learn best. I just don't know if I have the bandwidth for another mouth to feed (aka, another campaign). A one shot, though... I may have to see if GameHoleCon is still accepting submissions... |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 9, 2023 7:29:09 GMT -6
Thank you for the links. This kinda intuitively tells me I'm on the right track in how to handle "skills" - use for extraordinary circumstances or where failure is interesting. The target numbers are all over the place, but that cheat sheet from the first link helps a lot. |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 9, 2023 14:15:47 GMT -6
Thank you for the links. This kinda intuitively tells me I'm on the right track in how to handle "skills" - use for extraordinary circumstances or where failure is interesting. The target numbers are all over the place, but that cheat sheet from the first link helps a lot. Yes, TN's are variable, as are the bonuses for each level of skill, by skill. One of the things most house-ruled about CT, I imagine. |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 10, 2023 13:57:40 GMT -6
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 11, 2023 3:11:59 GMT -6
Very nice, and really like the PC presentation: how did you do each? Character generation in CT is a minigame unto itself. One common house rule is to give two skill rolls/term for prior careers without advancement: in LBB1 that would be Scout and Other.
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Post by chicagowiz on May 11, 2023 7:35:05 GMT -6
Very nice, and really like the PC presentation: how did you do each? Character generation in CT is a minigame unto itself. One common house rule is to give two skill rolls/term for prior careers without advancement: in LBB1 that would be Scout and Other. Thank you for the kind words! All chargen by hand, BtB, except with some setting adjustments: * If awarded a ship during chargen: Scout - instead has a guaranteed job as commercial pilot. Merchant - Reroll and gain extra cash benefit roll, DM +2 against cash table. * For each term, roll 1d6, if 1-2, then character is still in service, at end of term, when campaign starts. The images came from DreamStudio AI art generator. For my NPCs, I'm cheating and using robertsconley 's online CT character generator and adjusting to fit. Like the Lance's captain, XO, etc. And taking away anything that isn't LBB. |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 11, 2023 10:30:30 GMT -6
Very nice, and really like the PC presentation: how did you do each? Character generation in CT is a minigame unto itself. One common house rule is to give two skill rolls/term for prior careers without advancement: in LBB1 that would be Scout and Other. Thank you for the kind words! All chargen by hand, BtB, except with some setting adjustments: * If awarded a ship during chargen: Scout - instead has a guaranteed job as commercial pilot. Merchant - Reroll and gain extra cash benefit roll, DM +2 against cash table. * For each term, roll 1d6, if 1-2, then character is still in service, at end of term, when campaign starts. The images came from DreamStudio AI art generator. For my NPCs, I'm cheating and using robertsconley 's online CT character generator and adjusting to fit. Like the Lance's captain, XO, etc. And taking away anything that isn't LBB. Nice, real dice rolling is the way to go. A couple of other CT generators here and here. I seem to recall the latter was used by Rob in his version (or could be the other way around). If you don't mind pruning from more recent adaptions of CT, there's a Cepheus Engine one here which can generate N characters at a time. |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 12, 2023 9:11:41 GMT -6
Nice, real dice rolling is the way to go. A couple of other CT generators here and here. I seem to recall the latter was used by Rob in his version (or could be the other way around). If you don't mind pruning from more recent adaptions of CT, there's a Cepheus Engine one here which can generate N characters at a time. Very much agree, it gives me the opportunity to get to be in the head of the character a bit, in order to give them some flavor on the descriptions. I figure for max 6 players, I need 10 pregens, so six to go! PS. If you're willing and have the time, can I possibly interest you to help with a play-test? I'm targeting later in June, it will be online, to test the opening adventure. I've submitted it to GameHoleCon for consideration as a game in Oct. |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 12, 2023 15:16:03 GMT -6
PS. If you're willing and have the time, can I possibly interest you to help with a play-test? I'm targeting later in June, it will be online, to test the opening adventure. I've submitted it to GameHoleCon for consideration as a game in Oct. Sure, time permitting. I'm not much for on-line gaming (tried several times, just not for me), but would be willing to help out with playtesting. I think the last time I actually got to play (as opposed to Ref) CT was 1982...  |
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Post by robertsconley on May 13, 2023 6:58:58 GMT -6
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Post by chicagowiz on May 13, 2023 8:37:52 GMT -6
For my NPCs, I'm cheating and using robertsconley 's online CT character generator and adjusting to fit. Like the Lance's captain, XO, etc. And taking away anything that isn't LBB. Glad you found the Traveller Generator I modified useful. The original program was done by pgorman but I added the Citizens of the Imperium careers. Since you are using Classic Traveller you may find these references I created and laid out useful. (snip) Hope you find these useful. Thanks! My bookmark folder has 'sploded, just amazing how many tools are out there! |
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Post by Starbeard on May 15, 2023 11:18:44 GMT -6
This is cool. I long had a latent intention of drafting up a BSG subsector to throw into my on-and-off Traveller game, but forming a whole campaign around it, right down to using a roving battlestar refugee fleet as the base town, is even more fantastic. With all those ships in the fleet, it seems like it would be easier to come up with and run "city" adventures, too.
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Post by chicagowiz on May 15, 2023 19:14:20 GMT -6
This is cool. I long had a latent intention of drafting up a BSG subsector to throw into my on-and-off Traveller game, but forming a whole campaign around it, right down to using a roving battlestar refugee fleet as the base town, is even more fantastic. With all those ships in the fleet, it seems like it would be easier to come up with and run "city" adventures, too. Well, we're edging closer and closer to actually launching this thing out of the tubes. I've tentatively got a plan to start playtesting the GameHoleCon scenario in June/July and I think that'll teach me a lot. Beyond that... Here's what I've got as a player handout so far: docs.google.com/document/d/1sFYt1g8otb23L4bJXFl7I9ebIf4p8z2R8k4Uap3YFAQ/edit?usp=sharing |
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Baron
Level 4 Theurgist
Invincible Overlord
Posts: 119
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Post by Baron on May 28, 2023 1:01:00 GMT -6
Since we're sharing reference materials, here is my version of weapon cards: CT Weapon Cards |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on May 28, 2023 6:31:11 GMT -6
Since we're sharing reference materials, here is my version of weapon cards: CT Weapon CardsNice, and poking around your blog now. Thanks! |
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Post by chicagowiz on May 28, 2023 9:22:58 GMT -6
Since we're sharing reference materials, here is my version of weapon cards: CT Weapon CardsThanks! |
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Post by chicagowiz on Jun 13, 2023 7:09:27 GMT -6
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on Jun 14, 2023 15:45:26 GMT -6
And I'm hoping the reverse flow helps me: CT experience improving my D&D Ref'ing. Also been ruminating on the session, and why CT is especially suited for con games, and I think it boils down to: as long as the Ref knows enough of the rules to make good & fair rulings, the players don't need to know anything except what is on their character sheet, which is a model of succinctness/terseness. And that invites the player to fill in the gaps on their own. One other idea for GHC: have the pre-gens' backgrounds on the obverse of the character sheet, to use if the player wants to, but invite them to provide the background their UPP, career, terms and skills prompt them to envision? And Chris' OOTB series is a yearly read candidate for sure. |
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Post by chicagowiz on Jun 15, 2023 7:09:18 GMT -6
That's a good idea, rhialto, I'll see what I can do! |
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Post by ochrejelly on Jun 15, 2023 22:42:45 GMT -6
And Chris' OOTB series is a yearly read candidate for sure. It really is a fantastic blog. I would love to see it compiled into a book, or at the very least moved to a better blog interface than it currently has. I find it really impossible to navigate that site, and get lost trying to find posts. Is there a way to find a list of all of the posts in chronological order? |
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rhialto
Level 4 Theurgist
Posts: 128
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Post by rhialto on Jun 16, 2023 3:48:11 GMT -6
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Post by chicagowiz on Jun 16, 2023 7:46:55 GMT -6
Good stuff!
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Post by chicagowiz on Aug 7, 2023 8:23:36 GMT -6
Well, after 4 playtest sessions, I have a great adventure for conventions *and* I have a Traveller campaign. The players wanted to continue on. So, yet another rag-tag fleet is going to flee the Twelve Colonies in search of a home somewhere out among the stars...
I'm running the "Saga of a Battlestar" game at GameHoleCon and planning on running it at GaryCon.
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Post by tkdco2 on Aug 11, 2023 11:47:49 GMT -6
This sounds like a fun campaign. Please let us know how it goes at GaryCon.
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Post by chicagowiz on Sept 12, 2023 11:19:34 GMT -6
Campaign has 2 sessions in the books and the PCs have secured an old rattletrap long range shuttle. They made their first scouting jump to find a way for the Fleet to navigate the Veil (a large nebula).
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