AlHazred

Re: The Cage Opens I tend to agree with Manic Typist. However, I could see many alien races developing an abhorrence to physical violence, under the idea that after tens of thousands (heck, why not millions?) of years of development and evolution, they've found ways of psychological and economic violence which are far, far more effective. Similar to the idea of civilized diplomats trying to deal in a regular way with uncivilized peoples in distant (Third World?) parts of the universe (a la Retief).

After the last season of my Traveller Hero campaign ended, I read an article on Winchell Chung's site (authored by Neel Krishnaswami) regarding Causal Influence Diagrams and their application to gaming. I decided I really, really wanted to do something like this for my game, to more thoroughly involve the engineer PC. Well, the second season of my campaign has started up and it's time to put my money where my mouth is. So, I whipped this up today. What does the collective think? Did I get anything egregiously wrong? Are there more options to consider? And should I adapt this to maneuver drives (though they should be an order of magnitude simpler) and other starship systems like life support and such? EDIT - Well, I had no problem getting the article, but I've redone the link and also uploaded the file to my file storage here, which should resolve the problem. Jump Drive Causal Diagram

Re: Help me populate a dying space colony You might get some mileage out of certain Jack Vance stories -- they're chock full of quirky, outrageously self-interested individuals who would fit right in in Omicron Eridani. I recommend "Coup de Grace" (murder on a space station), "The Dogtown Tourist Agency" (another hive of scum and villainy), and the Demon Princes series, every book of which is chock full of unsavory individuals.

So, I'm four sessions into the second season of my successful Traveller Hero campaign, Flight of a Thousand Years. The players decide they will stop by Bicornn. They've been to the planet before, but didn't set foot off ship due to the Library Data entry (pulled from the GURPS Traveller Behind the Claw supplement: "The human states are engaged in a constant fight for survival against the Krvn, a semi-sentient species of human-sized burrowing arachnoids.") They met a couple of (human) natives off-world, were impressed with their resolve and survivalist mindset, and expect to go a little touring this time around. Checking elsewhere, it would appear that the GURPS: Traveller (GT) entry was written for this incarnation -- there is no canonical Classic Traveller (CT) reference. There have been some fan writeups of the world (like this one on Zho BERKA's site) which go in completely different directions. Reading the GT blurb puts me in mind of "The Kokod Warriors" by Jack Vance. In this classic space opera tale, the world in question has an indigenous population of sapients with a hive-like societal structure (the hives are called "tumbles"). Periodically, the tumbles send their warriors to do battle; warfare is strictly guided by a large number of Codes of Combat, each of which specify the maneuvers that may be used, the weapons allowed, and so on. I posit three different groups on the planet. The native "aliens" are the Krvn. They have a society with extreme biological stratification. The males are the warriors and the females are the Matrons of each colony (I might keep the name Tumble, it has a good ring to it). Due to the extremely limited space (it's a tiny world) the Tumbles are engaged in constant ritualized warfare. The Krvn are semi-sentient in the way that they have no real identity as individuals; instead, each warrior or Matron identifies so strongly with their home Tumble that they have almost no individuality. The constant warfare has become highly structured, and is devoted to acquiring the battle standards of opposing forces. In this conception,perhaps the nucleus of each colony is actually something non-organic, like the radioactive piles used by the ghosts in another Vance story The King of Thieves (which can also be found by following the Vance link in my first post). If so, this source of radioactive ores would be a hidden source of revenue if it is ever discovered, albeit to the destruction of the native life. The first human group are the remnants of a colony ship that crashed here shortly before the Long Night. The passengers regressed, due in part to a lack of metal ores, and partly because of the extreme savagery of the native fauna, including the Krvn. They adapted and also engage in ritualized battle with the natives, although their inclusion probably required the inclusion of a new set of Codes of Combat. They call their strongholds Tumbles as well, and otherwise fit in. I have already established Venom Brandy as a local export, so this now becomes something stoked with the venom of another predatory arthropod. Their battle brotherhoods (see above) restrict them to specific (Renaissance tech) weapons and tactics, which neatly explains their given TL without problem. The second human group is a set of capitalists who have created a betting lodge (or more than one?) on the planet. They have the highest tech level on the planet, and make their money from tourists betting on the local battles. This also allows me to add morally-bankrupt corporate chicanery without using one of the more established megacorporations (I get bored with them after a while). The characters at one time tried to smuggle a shipment of TL9 weapons to their buddies on Bicornn, since they figured the "life and death struggle against man-sized spiders" meant that the people needed all the help they could get. After rolling well for port inspectors, I ruled that the "farm implements" had been seized by port security, and they figured that local law must have prohibited advanced tech. I'm now wondering if perhaps the lodge owners have had local import laws tightened to prevent the importation of higher-tech goods, in order to maintain their own monopoly on the equipment. Of course, by the previous reasoning, neither the native humans or the Krvn would have use for such weapons -- they don't fit any Codes of Combat! But still, I like to be consistent with my previous rulings, even when I never gave it much thought before. Caption: "Typical Krvn fingerling (from Rock River Tumble). Thousands of fingerlings are born every year in each Tumble. Semi-sentient until adulthood, they are left to fend for themselves by the adults; about 90% perish in their first year." Caption: "Typical Krvn warrior (from Rock River Tumble). Note the cuirass, derived from a local predatory arthropod." Sources: http://firecrows.blogspot.com/2010/04/alien-spider-mite-parasite-thing.html http://matlatart.deviantart.com/art/alien-jungle-184734557 http://rajooda.deviantart.com/art/Alien-Sword-Weapon-115981915 http://www.kormax.com/images/KR0025.jpg

The beaked monkey is a creature from Traveller, frequently found as a pet aboard starships. They were delineated in Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society number 3. It became popular mostly because of its effect on psionic powers, something highly illegal in the Traveller setting. The pdf character sheet is attached.

Re: Here is my take on the Traveller Tree Rat It looks pretty good. Some comments: "adapt to change": I wouldn't give it No Conscious Control. It's a Life Support that costs 0 END; the limitation is not actually limiting, so it's not worth any points. "Prehensile Tail": We usually put Inherent (+1/4) on Extra Limbs that cannot be retracted. Clinging: I would make the value of the Only Surfaces Where Their Claws Find Purchase -1/2, as that would seem to be a Common circumstance in Traveller (ship hulls and other smooth metal surfaces, for example). It's listed as 70-80 cm long, true, but it also says "two-thirds of that is tail." That would make its body 23-27 cm, which is closer in size to Tiny (+18m KB). Running/Leaping/Swimming: The article makes no mention of their speed, but I would definitely buy these back a bit. I hope you don't mind, but I've put together an HD file for this: EDIT - And why not? Let's add a pdf of this lovely beastie...

Re: Women of the Champions Universe (Fanpictorial) Was I the only one expecting more cheesecake from a fanpictorial named "Women of the Champions Universe"? Admittedly, then we wouldn't get to see it on the Hero Boards... Nice jorb!

Re: Augmented Reality Start-Up Ready to Disrupt Business See, I can't see this being deployed to every planet. You're talking about a massive high-tech computer infrastructure necessary to support this as a viable business model. Sure, you could walk around TL7 (think 1940s tech) planet and put your own virtual signposts and stuff, but where is the information being stored? Such a world doesn't have ubiquitous computers, let alone ones dedicated to this kind of commercial virtualization. I'd say you need a couple of things in place: computers everywhere, prominent use of virtual experience technology (i.e., VR glasses), and computing resources dedicated to sustaining such a virtual world. Eventually, everyone needs to pay the bills, so it's a peculiarly fragile business ecosystem unless every business can dedicate its own resources to the project. And many planets with strict laws might take exception to the idea of a virtual world that their own citizens can modify ("What? You want to live in a world not controlled by our Glorious Beloved Dictator For Life?!? That is a treasonous thought, citizen! Under Section 3, I am obliged to liquidate you for the greater glory of the State!") Similarly, some religions might hold virtual worlds as inherently evil due to their manufacture by human (and therefore innately flawed) hands. Lastly, some worlds might have such a system in place, but it's been so abused and overcommercialized that its use has fallen out of favor; the citizens know not to go there, and the only saps...people who do are tourists renting the VR gear.

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/09/20/dutch-augmented-reality-start-up-ready-to-disrupt-business/ I've got to figure out how to port this into my Traveller Hero campaign, maybe as the foible for a really annoying planet. I can definitely see this as being illegal in many areas, perhaps under some broad fraud statute or as theft of business. EDIT - In fact, you can combine it with this technology and all hell breaks loose. http://www.gizmag.com/celebrity-face-substitution-system/19901/

Re: Long tours-of-duty on industrial/mining ships Don't know if the entire Medial and Security staff could be called "Scaling," since I imagine the 345 "Critical Crew" need medical care and regulatory enforcement.

Re: Submitted for your approval: 10 too human aliens. Isn't this an RPG message board? Let's see some stats for these entries!

Re: Need help with the middle of my Traveller Hero plot. Well, based on the little bit of information on canonical Milagro, you have a number of options. The extremely high Law Level makes it easy to justify why it might not be possible for PCs with their own ship to go directly there, or even investigate thoroughly -- that level of control probably precludes getting the proper orbit to do a thorough search of the planet's surface for anomalies. If you're trying to emphasize the dehumanization, then there are other possibilities. When the PCs arrive at the Milagro Downport (with E-class facilities, there's not going to be a highport), the landing procedures undoubtedly include registering their manifest of cargo and passengers. When the woman's name is sent to Milagro's government, it sets off an alarm -- her father's luggage is still waiting at the depot to be picked up, and has amassed a high amount of demurrage fines. Naturally, some greedy local official will probably try to get this money from the woman; maybe he's initially ignorant of her father's disappearance/possible death, but even when he finds out he insists she pay the fines as "that's the Law." Another possibility would be the Milagro government keeping tabs on all non-citizens. Even at 1970s tech level, it's feasible to keep tabs on the Forinians, which is undoubtedly something the conservative Milagran political elements would want to do. So, the PCs can probably find the guy through some judicious bribery of relatively low-level government officials. It appears somebody on the Citizens of the Imperium boards has been doing stuff with Milagro as well. http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=355937&postcount=55 http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=356229&postcount=57 http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=356229&postcount=58 http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=356229&postcount=59 http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=356229&postcount=62 http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=356229&postcount=67

Re: Indiana Jones World Map And the poster is already sold out, I see. Not surprising considering the limited run of 255 total!

Re: Long tours-of-duty on industrial/mining ships

Re: Vehicle: The Marauder

Re: Vehicle: The Marauder I like that it forms a middle-ground vehicle between the size of the Hummer and the size of an APC. I plan to use it for my Traveller Hero campaign.

The Paramount Group's Marauder mine-proof military vehicle was recently featured on Top Gear, where 7kg of plastic explosive detonated directly beneath failed to do more than dent the trim and blow out one tire. I thought it was interesting enough to make a conversion, especially with the various configurations on the website. HD character file is here. News article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008398/Top-Gear-finds-worlds-unstoppable-vehicle.html Home page: http://www.paramountgroup.biz/en/products/land/marauder-mine-protected-vehicle Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marauder_%28vehicle%29

Re: Zero-G Martial Arts

Re: Zero-G Martial Arts There are actually a couple of zero-G martial arts styles that have been published. The "standard" zero-G martial art is in HSMA (not sure of the page reference without my book here at work). Basically, it's supposed to represent a ship-board combat style for military personnel used to zero gravity. My favorite zero-G martial art is Zero-Ball from Adventurer's Club #24. It's for 5th edition instead of 6th, but the changes are minimal and it's accompanied by an excellent little discussion of how zero gravity adjusts the effects of some Maneuver Elements.

Worked this up last night as a preliminary set of ideas, and thought I'd drop it on here for feedback. I haven't worked up the Active Points for any of them yet, so I'm not sure what the Alchemy Roll penalties will be yet.

I'm working up some stuff for a low-fantasy campaign and I figured I'd use the alchemy system from the old Darklands computer game, released by Microprose in 1992. (I might port the Saint system over as well, but one step at a time.) I was shocked, shocked, to find out that it apparently hasn't been posted to the Boards! Has anyone ported this? If not, I might try my hand at a conversion.

Re: Usable maps of Pangea I like this one, but I can't figure out how to manipulate the "layers" they speak of. http://www.umm.maine.edu/Pangaea.html

Re: Favorite Real Scientist Sci Fi writers, and stuff you have cribbed from them. See, for my current Traveller Hero campaign, I've been cribbing ideas from Frederik Pohl; even though he's not a scientist of any stripe, his science ideas are interesting and fun. Of course, the science he used for his biggest "Wow!" moments has been discredited, but I've figured out ways to make them work.

Re: How do I get started in making a cruiser sized ship? A couple of points: It's not clear from the description, but if the ships being carried by Space Fold have to be "docked" (essentially the vehicular equivalent of "Grabbed") and they fit under the weight limit of the vehicle's STR, then I believe there's no need for the Usable Simultaneously Advantage. I mean, you don't need it for the Lifeboats, you don't need it for any similar ship contained "within" the mothership. Basic Hero System Vehicle construction is more or less "cinematic" in flavor. You have enough room for exactly as many staterooms or other chambers as you need for narrative logic (compare the ship interiors of the U.S.S. Enterprise with the Serenity). As a highly customizable system, you can change the Vehicle construction system to pretty much match whatever you want. Shadowcat's system is intricate, and is perfect for people who like that sort of thing. I used to be one of them.

Re: Distinguishing Normal Charcteristics As far as STR goes, there are optional rules to provide more granularity for damage, weight-carrying, and other purposes. Check out the Advanced Player's Guide [6E] or The Ultimate Brick [5E]. Higher DEX allows you to go before people of a lower DEX. This makes each point of DEX important. CON determines how easily you're Stunned. A single point can mean the difference between losing a Phase and not. And since normal people have a lower SPD, this is an even bigger deal than for superheroes. INT is the only stat where there's not (yet) a real difference in a normal game. If you're in a Psionic game which uses INT in place of DEX for mental combat (the standard system uses EGO) then what I said above under DEX applies. In a psionic game, EGO determines so many things, each point of it is important. Order of a action during a Phase, how easily you can be manipulated by Mental Powers, and so on. In 5E, your Mental Defense is calculated based off of it. PRE has a similar effect to CON -- when you are Presence Attacked, you can lose half-actions or whole Phases with a particularly potent Presence Attack. Each point counts. In 5E, where there are Figured Characteristics, these minor distinctions can also carry weight, although that only counts as far as the "break-points" for most characteristics (13 and 18, specifically).