'You got your D&D in my Traveller!'

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Black Vulmea

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Years ago I ran a Traveller campaign, and one of the players, taking the piss, announced he wanted to run 'a dwarf fighter,' and it got me thinking about the game's implied setting. Early Traveller chargen included many opportunities to earn or take skill in various sorts of edged weapons, most notably the automatic Cutlass-1 skill gained by Book 1 Marines. Daggers, foils, cutlasses, swords, spears, pikes and halberds are among the options a player can select, a call out to Traveller's origins in mid-century sci-fi; think about how common fighting with blades is in RAH's work - frex, Starship Troopers, Orphans of the Sky, and Tunnel in the Sky - as well as dueling in Herbert's Dune. Supplement 04 introduced the Barbarian career and with it bows, crossbows and the sling as weapon options.

As Traveller aged, blades became more 'ceremonial' in the setting, rather than something characters were expected to use in actual in-game combat - consider how few illustrations included characters with swords or polearms - which is a shame, particularly given the nature of law levels in the game: merchants with sheathed swords and daggers followed by a guard of pikemen or halbardiers walking through startown would actually make a fair amount of sense on worlds where firearms are strictly controlled, or not widely available. But mostly, a Baroque sci-fi universe is kinda cool, like Lando Calrissian's cape.

So, a dwarf fighter, then. Traveller introduced 'space dwarves,' a Minor Human race known as the Geonee - detailed in Travellers' Digest 11 - and I'd already situated an old Vilani penal colony for rebellious Geonee on one of the mainworlds; the mainworld has its own planetary navy which is part of the subsector fleet. All I needed was an axe, which was conveniently provided in the form of a boarding axe in Traveller20. Boarding axes became the melee weapon of choice for Geonee serving in the planetary navy and marines, and bam, there he was, a dwarf fighter.

This got me to thinking, then, about playing up that early, Baroque implied setting, so I looked at D&D tropes, and what they might look like in Traveller.

First, magic: Marc Miller carefully dodged magic in the Traveller portion of the Thieves World box set, but the obvious expression in Traveller is psionics; psionicists became the witches and wizards of the setting, feared and reviled by society but secretly succored in their 'magical colleges,' the Psionics Institute. As my campaign was set in the de-canonized Judges Guild Ley Sector, I also brought in the psionic space merchants of the Anubian Trade Coalition from the adjacent Hinterworlds sector as detailed in Challenge 52, trading along the Imperial fringe.

Next, 'monsters': I created the 'rakshasas,' psionic Aslan far from their Hierate, hedonist deceivers who emulate Hivers manipulations but twisted to their own decadent, self-interested ends. Chirpers - degenerate Droyne - are 'fairies' on a number of garden worlds, mischievous but not malevolent and occasionally friendly and helpful. Androids and robots are 'golems,' remorseless guardians and assassins. 'Merfolk' are biomod sophonts, closely allied with intelligent dolphins.

Then there are 'undead,' including 'wraiths,' avatar computer programs which come close to but don't quite rise to the level of AI, 'haunting' old installations and starships, and 'liches,' cyborg psionicists, a brain-in-a-jar on a robot or android body.

And there are all the Baroque trappings inherent in Traveller already: barbarians, space pirates, knights and nobles, starship hulk and lost space station 'dungeons,' defense installation 'castles' and 'keeps' - see the excellent example in Chris Moeller's Iron Empires: Faith Conquers for what a meson gun and shield and nuclear damper complex might look like. Sprinkle in ritual combat 'jousts,' merchant 'fairs,' star pilgrims, noble palaces. From this vantage, wearing a sword and a dagger - and a cape, gotta have the cape - doesn't seem so odd or impractical after all.

And neither do space dwarves with boarding axes.
 
Years ago I ran a Traveller campaign, and one of the players, taking the piss, announced he wanted to run 'a dwarf fighter,' and it got me thinking about the game's implied setting. Early Traveller chargen included many opportunities to earn or take skill in various sorts of edged weapons, most notably the automatic Cutlass-1 skill gained by Book 1 Marines. Daggers, foils, cutlasses, swords, spears, pikes and halberds are among the options a player can select, a call out to Traveller's origins in mid-century sci-fi; think about how common fighting with blades is in RAH's work - frex, Starship Troopers, Orphans of the Sky, and Tunnel in the Sky - as well as dueling in Herbert's Dune. Supplement 04 introduced the Barbarian career and with it bows, crossbows and the sling as weapon options.

As Traveller aged, blades became more 'ceremonial' in the setting, rather than something characters were expected to use in actual in-game combat - consider how few illustrations included characters with swords or polearms - which is a shame, particularly given the nature of law levels in the game: merchants with sheathed swords and daggers followed by a guard of pikemen or halbardiers walking through startown would actually make a fair amount of sense on worlds where firearms are strictly controlled, or not widely available. But mostly, a Baroque sci-fi universe is kinda cool, like Lando Calrissian's cape.
Don't forget that Earl Dumarest, the source of the game's name, could throw his nine-inch knife through a cyber's eye and into his brain faster than the cyber can fire his laser.

And you need to be extra-badass to pull off a cape.
 
I approve of this. There is nothing wrong with Traveller, but I've always felt that it could use a little more Vancian tone in places.
Do you mean the basic game itself or the 3rd Imperium setting? The basic game is nearly setting-free aside from the effects of the jump drive on how long it takes to travel and communicate.
 
The point isn't playing a space game with magic, Edgewise, it's D&D-ifying Traveller. That is the specific fun Black Vulmea is after. :grin:
Exactly so, Clash - it's not, I want to play D&D in space, it's, some D&Disms bring out a different flavor from early Traveller.

I approve of this. There is nothing wrong with Traveller, but I've always felt that it could use a little more Vancian tone in places.
That's one of the reasons I think I gravitate toward some of the more edge Traveller stuff, in particular Group One and Marischal Adventures.
 
Exactly so, Clash - it's not, I want to play D&D in space, it's, some D&Disms bring out a different flavor from early Traveller.
I'm not sure what the distinction is. SWN is not remotely D&D in space by my definition, unless you're referring purely to mechanical features - even then, SWN deviates heavily from D&D. Spelljammer is what I'd call "D&D in space." Besides, you can loot what you want from another game without adopting it whole hog.
 
Do you mean the basic game itself or the 3rd Imperium setting? The basic game is nearly setting-free aside from the effects of the jump drive on how long it takes to travel and communicate.
Oh, I'm aware the basic game is largely setting-free. I'm just stating one of the flavors I would add.
 
It's similar to my favoring the early version of 40K's setting, which had more Star Wars and Traveller-esque influences in it... but still have quasi-fantasy races and magic... and lots of melee weapons.
 
Years ago I ran a Traveller campaign, and one of the players, taking the piss, announced he wanted to run 'a dwarf fighter,' and it got me thinking about the game's implied setting. Early Traveller chargen included many opportunities to earn or take skill in various sorts of edged weapons, most notably the automatic Cutlass-1 skill gained by Book 1 Marines. Daggers, foils, cutlasses, swords, spears, pikes and halberds are among the options a player can select, a call out to Traveller's origins in mid-century sci-fi; think about how common fighting with blades is in RAH's work - frex, Starship Troopers, Orphans of the Sky, and Tunnel in the Sky - as well as dueling in Herbert's Dune. Supplement 04 introduced the Barbarian career and with it bows, crossbows and the sling as weapon options.

As Traveller aged, blades became more 'ceremonial' in the setting, rather than something characters were expected to use in actual in-game combat - consider how few illustrations included characters with swords or polearms - which is a shame, particularly given the nature of law levels in the game: merchants with sheathed swords and daggers followed by a guard of pikemen or halbardiers walking through startown would actually make a fair amount of sense on worlds where firearms are strictly controlled, or not widely available. But mostly, a Baroque sci-fi universe is kinda cool, like Lando Calrissian's cape.
So, like in my games? They tend to happen on high-law worlds, for some reason:smile:. And guns can be unwieldy on a ship, in cramped fighting...especially if someone is already close to your mates:wink:!
And of course, real fights seldom happen when you're prepared, so skill with a ceremonial weapon is always welcome...

Next, 'monsters': I created the 'rakshasas,' psionic Aslan far from their Hierate, hedonist deceivers who emulate Hivers manipulations but twisted to their own decadent, self-interested ends. Chirpers - degenerate Droyne - are 'fairies' on a number of garden worlds, mischievous but not malevolent and occasionally friendly and helpful. Androids and robots are 'golems,' remorseless guardians and assassins. 'Merfolk' are biomod sophonts, closely allied with intelligent dolphins.

Then there are 'undead,' including 'wraiths,' avatar computer programs which come close to but don't quite rise to the level of AI, 'haunting' old installations and starships, and 'liches,' cyborg psionicists, a brain-in-a-jar on a robot or android body.

And there are all the Baroque trappings inherent in Traveller already: barbarians, space pirates, knights and nobles, starship hulk and lost space station 'dungeons,' defense installation 'castles' and 'keeps' - see the excellent example in Chris Moeller's Iron Empires: Faith Conquers for what a meson gun and shield and nuclear damper complex might look like. Sprinkle in ritual combat 'jousts,' merchant 'fairs,' star pilgrims, noble palaces. From this vantage, wearing a sword and a dagger - and a cape, gotta have the cape - doesn't seem so odd or impractical after all.

And neither do space dwarves with boarding axes.
OK, I agree with Harl Quinn Harl Quinn . This is fucking metal, and I love the idea:shade:!
 
Sounds like a case for Stars Without Number, unless you don't like the rules. Not only does it have extensive rules for psionics, but it also has optional rules for "space magic."
Except I've got SWN, and Traveller's rules for combat and psionics are simply better. Now, the rules for space magic might be adopted...or not.
But where SWN really shines is in the GM-facing options, IME.

I'm not sure what the distinction is. SWN is not remotely D&D in space by my definition, unless you're referring purely to mechanical features - even then, SWN deviates heavily from D&D. Spelljammer is what I'd call "D&D in space." Besides, you can loot what you want from another game without adopting it whole hog.
SWN is D&D in space by my definition, though, and not only because of the mostly useless mechanical features. Now I'm curious how you define the differences.
Agreed with looting, though, that's why I keep supporting Sine Nomine Kickstarters:grin:!
 
I'm not sure what the distinction is.
I believe you're completely missing the point of my post. A player was being funny, but instead of laughing it off, I ran with it. Changing games was never part of the calculus.

How did well did it go over at the table?
Aside from the axe-wielding ex-Navy Geonee, most of the adventurers were pretty much stock sci-fi sorts, so the players didn't really tap into it as much as they could've - they were also new to Traveller, and my recommended viewing list before we started was stuff like Alien and Outland - 'shotguns-in-space' - so sword-and-planet wasn't an obvious choice. We did eventually watch Flash Gordon, and they understood a little better what the universe looked and felt like.

They encountered a 'wraith' in a derelict lab ship and a 'witches coven' among a barbarian tribe, transported Church of the Stellar Divinity pilgrims on a risky charter, and dealt with plenty of knights and nobles and their courtiers and retinues. There were Hansa-like trade associations to negotiate, Vargr corsairs to flee, and an honest-to-goodness princess to ransom from pirates. Good times.
 
But where SWN really shines is in the GM-facing options, IME.
No dispute on that point!
I believe you're completely missing the point of my post.
What I actually didn't get from your initial post was that this campaign had actually happened. I thought this was a more recent idea based on thinking back to something that a player had suggested in a more distant past, and you were just running it past people. The campaign sounds like it must have been a blast.
 
I believe you're completely missing the point of my post. A player was being funny, but instead of laughing it off, I ran with it. Changing games was never part of the calculus.


Aside from the axe-wielding ex-Navy Geonee, most of the adventurers were pretty much stock sci-fi sorts, so the players didn't really tap into it as much as they could've - they were also new to Traveller, and my recommended viewing list before we started was stuff like Alien and Outland - 'shotguns-in-space' - so sword-and-planet wasn't an obvious choice. We did eventually watch Flash Gordon, and they understood a little better what the universe looked and felt like.

They encountered a 'wraith' in a derelict lab ship and a 'witches coven' among a barbarian tribe, transported Church of the Stellar Divinity pilgrims on a risky charter, and dealt with plenty of knights and nobles and their courtiers and retinues. There were Hansa-like trade associations to negotiate, Vargr corsairs to flee, and an honest-to-goodness princess to ransom from pirates. Good times.
You need to write an actual play of this campaign:smile:.
 
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