TRAVELLER Digest 546

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) RE: No Choice about New Rules? by That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
  2) RE: Traveller (it's aliiiive!!!) by "Bruce Johnson" <JOHNSON@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu>
  3) RE: New Rules by That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
  4) RE: Characters and Starships by That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
  5) Spy Car by lewis@chara.gsu.edu
  6) NPC:Hans Pritcher by lewis@chara.gsu.edu
  7) The White Star by lewis@chara.gsu.edu
  8) by Simon.Harding@vuw.ac.nz
  9) re: A Vampire NPC (and astronomy in Traveller) by bmac@astro.ucla.edu (Bruce Alan Macintosh)
 10) California Dreaming... by Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:13:51 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RE: No Choice about New Rules?
Message-ID: <199601111713.MAA15354@chopin.udel.edu>

In Reply to Your Message of Thu, 11 Jan 1996 07: 17:40 EST
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:13:50 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@chopin.udel.edu>

: Yo Folkes,
:   One wrinkle I haven't seen discussed:
:   TNE uses the GDW house rules. Who owns the GDW
: house rules now? If they are a seperate entity
: from the "Traveller" trademark can Marc still
: use them? Say someone else buys Dark Conspiracy.
: (which also uses the house rules?) Who has a
: right to change them?
:   Does this mean that Marc will *have* to use
: a new system?
:
:   Who says life should be simple,
:             Jo
:

I asked this a few days ago.  No one answered.  I think that the house
rules are properties of Frank and Loren.  I figured that when the
licenses were sold, that the games concepts were what was actually
being sold off.  My guess is that whoever buys the games will probably
re-work the mechanics to fit in with their systems.

It's a damn shame too.  I was eagerly awaiting the reprinting of Dark
Conspiracy (I can't find it anywhere around here) so that I could do
my Cthulu in Space campaign.  8(

       --Jerry

8) Jerry Alexandratos                %  "Nothing inhabits my    (8
8) darkstar@strauss.udel.edu         %   thoughts, and oblivion (8
8) darkstar@canary.pearson.udel.edu  %   drives my desires."    (8

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 10:08:51 MST7
From: "Bruce Johnson" <JOHNSON@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu>
To: FarFuture@aol.com
Cc: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RE: Traveller (it's aliiiive!!!)
Message-ID: <77DA8C5A1D@tonic.pharm.Arizona.EDU>

Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996
>From: FarFuture@aol.com
>To: traveller@MPGN.COM
>Subject: Traveller
>
>Thanks for  your good wishes about  Traveller. This is sort  of a
>generic response, but I thought  you would like to hear something
>as soon as possible.

Mr. Miller,

It is very good to know you're back , involved with Traveller.  I
learned to play it with the three black books waaaay back, after
hearing from a friend who'd moved away about this fantastic new game
he'd been playing, called Traveller...

>Where Traveller  Is Going -  In order to  keep as many  people as
>possible informed, I will (from time  to time) put out my opinion
>of where Traveller should go now that it I am responsible for its
>future.
>
>Traveller needs to be revitalized  with a wider audience who will
>appreciate and love  the game as much as  its dedicated fans have
>in past years. Since its  original publication in 1977, Traveller
>has   been   the   pre-eminent   science-fiction  game,  covering
>role-playing,  boardgames,  miniatures,  and  computer  games. My
>vision   is  three   fold=85  a   comprehensive,  rules   system,
>continually expanding background and  history, and a wide variety
>of products in print, electronic, and other media.

This is a good approach, sort of the Steve Jackson Games path.
Just stay away from the SS! ;-/

[Some stuff snipped that I had no comments on in the following
section]

>Comprehensive  Rules  System.  The  game  system  rules  will  be
>consolidated  based  on  the  original  Classic  Traveller  rules
>(revised  in light  of 20  years of  role-playing experience).  I
>envision adding  to the basic rules  a task system and  a vehicle
>design system.  The game rules will  concentrate on the vehicles,
>starships, and  equipment players will encounter  and use (rather
>than  covering every  possibility). The  key is  that these rules
>must be easy to use, easy to understand, and accessible.
>

I'll have to add my voice to the others from the mailing list
saying to go slow on the rules changes.  There are certainly places
where the rules can be clarified or simplified somewhat, but a whole
sale re-design will just mess everyone up already.  There are areas
that desperately need this, though. The vehicle design system, for
instance, could well stand considerable re-writes.  As has been
stated on the TML more than once..a design system should be able to
re-create existing vehicles with a modicum of accuracy...witness the
M1A1 tank and the 'Prarie  Fire' design. The tank designed according
to the rules is over 3 1/2 times heavier, at a higher tech level!

There are a number of people who are gadget freaks, both players
and GM's, no matter what the game; a science fiction game only
accentuates that, IMHO.  It's the future, there's SUPPOSED to be neat
stuff, so an easily usable system for designing 'stuff' is
necessary.

One of the things I liked the most about TNE was the vastly
expanded range of characters...it was nice not being ex-Marines,
Navy or Scouts...it made life feel much less like a succession of
Army towns or Navy ports.

>Continually  Expanding History.  With two  decades of  experience
>producing  material for  Traveller, we  now have  a broad  canvas
>against which  to play. I  envision providing in  general form to
>players  approximately  ten  eras  (or  campaign  settings), each
>defined enough  to permit a  number of adventures  and campaigns.
>Some (5 of the 12 or so) of these eras would be:
>
>    1. Grandfather's  Children. Adventuring in the  heyday of the
>       Ancients.

Cool, except weren't humans all Cro-Magnon's scattered around the
galaxy at that time? This era, though, should satisfy all the
technomunchkins out there with it's TL 20 stuff.

>    2. The Long Night. The period  after the collapse of the Rule
>       of Man.

Very nice...sort of like TNE sans Virus. This would be a very good
space-opera 'ish setting to be in. Reaving fleets, Interstallar
Warlords, etc.

>    3. The Early  Imperium. The  expansion of  the Imperium into
>       unexplored territory.

Good place for scout characters

>    4. The  Civil War. The many  factions fight to take  over the
>       Third Imperium.

Oh, NO not Mega-T again!  ;-)

>    5. The Virus Era. (and others)

Where my current setting is.  The players are misjumped waaay off
towards Terra, and have to find their way back to RC space in one
piece. the have to TRAVEL (hint hint) to get back, and shooting their
way out is not usually an option.

This is a wonderful idea, as long as the source books were well
designed.  The TNE ones had been getting somewhat better, but, for
instance, Smash and Grab, Path of Tears, Personalities of the RC, a
nd the Virus Handbook, should realistically been a single RC source
book.  The key, I think is to avoid the expanding story line routine
that GDW had been pursuing, requiring you to buy every source book
AND modify your game universe every time they come out and say 'Oh
by the way...we changed this <incredibly important part of the
Universe> on you...' Concentrate instead on single source books set
either in a particular history, or a particular technology like a
'Janes Guide to the History of the Starship' kind of thing...designs
suitable for all the settings.

>Wide Variety of Products. In  addition to print products like
>
>    the comprehensive rules set
>    campaign settings
>    equipment books
>    and adventures,
>
>I would also like to see:
>
>    CD-ROM of all Traveller materials.

This would be nice, and I'd personally snap it up in a heartbeat,
but could well undercut you on paper sales, as well as unscrupulous idiots 
passing it around...Xcopy is much faster than a xerox mac
hine.  On the other hand, since everything is done in electronic
format anyway, it's almost a throwaway to produce, depending on how 
slick/unslick you want it to be.

>    1996 Traveller T-Shirt

With the logo 'I'm not quite dead yet..' (ObMontyPython ref.)

>    Computer Referee's Aids

An easy way to this end is to implement a policy like SJG's
regarding shareware and freeware licensing of GURPS material.  It
has led to a lot of good will towards SJG and a huge pile of
avaliable software.  You could pick the best to licence as
'official'.

>    Background Documents
>    Novels
>    Pseudo-Historical Sourcebooks

Let there be net.books.  Realistically, there's tons of material
out here being developed, and has been developed, etc.  I downloaded
all the old TML vehicle files...about 200 pages of various ship
designs.  Now if your rules consolidations allows for simple
conversion of CT, MT, and NE designs to Traveller, the Rebirth,
there's a huge amount of material right there.

>    Traveller Trading Card Game
>    Traveller Story-Telling Card Game

I know this is THE hot area of gaming right now, but I would be
concerned about it being a'too-little, too late' proposition.  I
have read some accounts about people thinking that the card craze
has peaked.  You however are in a much better position to know, since
I don't follow all of that.  I personally, would hate to see a
'Traveller: The Gathering of All Avaliable Cash' a la' Magic, but
what do I know; I'm 'jes an old stick in the mud who thinks that
RPG's are MEANT to be played with beer, pretzels, scratch paper and
dice.


>    Cardboard Fold-up Starships
>    Cardboard Fold-up Grav Tanks

Some of the gadget freaks would like 'em...if they were well done
and cheap I might even buy a few. Miniatures make more sense as
playing aids, though.

What I see from this list (and I know this is really preliminary)
is that you're taking a real scattershot approach towards expanding
Trav. I worry about whoever ends up producing this mass of material
getting spread real thin, and not doing a good job on anything.

Priority (from my standpoint) is to get a good basic set like
original boxed set out, then source books.  Pay less attention to
the flash of the pages then to a reasonable content.  The original
books are astonishingly austere, almost zen-like, compared to modern
RPG books, but neither do they have to be the awful 'look at me I
just got Pagemaker' look and feel of the TNE manual.

These are REFERENCE books, not entertainment, and while I do like
the pictures, I really want to be able to find things when I need to,
and the unneccesary clutter on the TNE stuff is very distracting.

Included adventures should be in appendices, not stuck in the middle
like textbook excercises.  Finally: Proofread, proofread, proofread,
and to be on the safe side have someone else do it two or three
times.

>Feedback  is  essential,  so  I  consider  this vision subject to
>change,  and I  actively  invite  constructive criticism  of this
>vision, with your own opinions of  where we should go, and how we
>should get there.

Like others on the Traveller mailing list, I suggest you get some of
the back issues of both TML and X-Boat and browse through them.
You'll rapidly get a feel for what at least one segment of the
Traveller market is interested in.  Another potential audience is
the cyberpunk crowd..newsgroups like rec.games.frp.cyber, while home
to some astonishingly long flame-wars, are also a good source of
ideas and potential customers.  (By cyberpunk, of course I mean stuff
like Cyberpunk 2020, not shadowrun, which is just D&D with machine
guns to me)

Something I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is the future of
Challenge...It would be nice to have more than one Traveller
magazine out, since the Traveller Chronicle comes out so rarely.

>I am actively in discussions  with potential publishers, artists,
>writers,  and  licensees  about  Traveller.  If  you  know  of  a
>potential  participant in  Traveller, please  give him  or her my
>name and email address.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Marc Miller
>FarFuture@aol.com

Bruce Johnson
Information Technology/College of Pharmacy
The University of Arizona
johnson@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu


As if this place HAD any opinions...

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:19:33 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RE: New Rules
Message-ID: <199601111719.MAA15638@chopin.udel.edu>

In Reply to Your Message of Thu, 11 Jan 1996 08: 38:35 EST
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:19:33 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@chopin.udel.edu>

: Just wanted to throw in my 0.02Cr...
:
: On
: Date: Tue, 09 Jan 1996 21:49:44 -0900
: William F. Hostman talked about Character Gen.
:
: [snipped stuff about detail vrs simplicity]
: I agree wholeheartedly here.  The beauty of CT and MT CGen was that the
: player could CHOOSE detail or simplicity (read quick).  I could help a
: player gen a char in about 5 min using basic gen, it took longer (30 min) to
: do advanced, but we also had a feel for what that character really
: experienced duting CGEn.
:
: AS for FF&S.  All of us will agree that it needs improvement, perhaps a
: little simplification (I personally like it the way it is).  But it IS
: better for detail than High Guard.

The fact that it needs a little tweaking doesn't negate it as an
excellent product.  My guess is that people must really like it for it
to get this much wear and tear.  Think about it, everyone (especially
Bertil, Merrick, and Alvin) push that thing to it's limits and beyond.
I know personally, I even have to augment a design or two with stuff
from 3G^3.  However, I know that even with it's shortcomings, we still
all love it.  Why?  Simply it is the best product ever created.

I think the real solution should be to create a FFS lite that has
everything modularized (similar to MT).  Thus, you pick parts and
clobber them together.

: My biggest problem with Cgen in TNE is the hard and fast 4 year term.  Ther
: eis never any variation, and characters lose some of their individuality.

Uhm, the 4 year term has been a Traveller standard since the
beginning.  The only way to get out of it and have a two year term was
by failing your survival roll.

       --Jerry

8) Jerry Alexandratos                %  "Nothing inhabits my    (8
8) darkstar@strauss.udel.edu         %   thoughts, and oblivion (8
8) darkstar@canary.pearson.udel.edu  %   drives my desires."    (8

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:32:28 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RE: Characters and Starships
Message-ID: <199601111732.MAA16349@chopin.udel.edu>

In Reply to Your Message of Thu, 11 Jan 1996 11: 43:13 EST
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 12:32:27 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@chopin.udel.edu>

: I am confused some what by new material I see on the web and on these emails.
: I am well grounded in CT and hard science.  My players like the light
: simplicity of the game  and the lack of a need to know complex science and
: equations in order to play.  The starships seem to have advanced dramatically
: and character generation has gone out of control.
:
:  - How do two term characters get things like Pistol 14 and streetwise 12 (in
: addition to other skills)

These skills are sill level + controlling attribute.  Thus, someone
could have a skill like snub pistol 5.  With a str of 6.  Their snub
pistol skill is then 11.  I kind of like this system as it allows
characters to be a little more heroic since they aren't as heavily
penalized for being unskilled.

:  - Is there a way to translate these new skill systems to the CT system
: either direction)

Get the Survival Margin sourcebook.  In the back of it is an appendix
that tells you how to convert stats, which skill replaces which skill,
etc. from MT to TNE.  The jump from CT to MT in this regard is
negligible (skills and attributes were the same in CT and MT).

:  - Where can I find descriptions of all the new skills I see (eg. History,
: Language, etc.)

Just the TNE rule book.

:  - What ever happened to the rule: Skills <= Int + Edu?

Not with the new attribute oriented task/skill system.

:  - I am opposed to investing yet more time and money into the game and then
: have to change all I have developed through CT not to mention my PCs.

Unfortunately, this is a harsh reality in RPG's.  Either we're happy
(or at least bother) to do the work of converting things from an old
edition to a new one, or we bitch and moan about it.

:  - What is a Fusion Drive and how does it relate to CT.

It's a type of drive.  Very inefficient.  Tops out around TL9.  It's
akin to an advanced solid-rocket (but not really).  I'm not sure if it
was in the High Guard design rules, but it is in the MT and TNE ones.

:  - What is a G-turn?

A unit of fuel that is burned to allow a ship to accelerate or
maneuver.  The more G-turns the more things you can do before you're a
sitting duck.  For people who don't like this overhead (it was added
to make TNE space combat more "edge-of-your-seat") I recommend just
using the good old grav thruster plates.

:  - Whatever happened to Model a/b with x storage and y programs?
:  - other questions to numerous to list along these same lines.

They don't call them that anymore.  Now they're just called a TL8 or
TL9, etc... computer.

: I only have a passing knowledge of TNE and MT and that has been picked
: up fro m these web sites and email.  I have been out of the traveller
: circle for over seven years and have recently begun running a standard
: old CT campaign, but would like to use these new fresh sources of info.
: HELP?

Welcome to the New Era.  Sorry it didn't last too long.  It was just
starting to get interesting.

       --Jerry

8) Jerry Alexandratos                %  "Nothing inhabits my    (8
8) darkstar@strauss.udel.edu         %   thoughts, and oblivion (8
8) darkstar@canary.pearson.udel.edu  %   drives my desires."    (8

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 13:20:01 -0500
From: lewis@chara.gsu.edu
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Spy Car
Message-ID: <9601111820.AA03303@chara.gsu.edu>


I saw Goldeneye, the new Bond movie, last month, and made this soon
there after.  Its pretty big, at one displacement ton, but 5 cubic meters
of that is just from the two cramped workstations. Fuel efficiency is
horrible, but that's normal for FFS.  I put two ejection seats from the
aircraft section in, they seemed like they fit. Well, hope you have
fun with it.
Lewis

TL-8 Spy car

This is the standard issue secret agent sports car with various useful
attachments, such as twin heavy machine guns, armor plating, ejection
seats and it even has an auxiliary water propulsion system, so it is
amphibious.

TL: 8
Price: 111916 Cr
Size 12.5 cubic meters
Mass: 8.816 tonnes unloaded, 9.816 tonnes loaded
Power: .1 MW Improved Internal Combustion Engine
       an Auxiliary  Water Propulsion Unit.
Maint: 2
Controls: Basic Controls
Commo: 30 km radio
Sensors: LA Scope 120m, 2 x Headlights 30m, Inertial positioning.
Life Support: Heat, light, air conditioning, champagne cooler.
Cargo: .5 cubic meters
Crew: 1
Passengers: 1.  Both Driver and Passenger have ejection seats.
Fire Control: Tl-8 ballistic computer allows up to +2 Diff Mods
to be disregarded. Imaging Radar.
Armament: 2 x 13mm HMG (See TNE rulebook) in two front chassis mounts
Stabilization: Advanced, fire at any speed.
Ammo: 500 rounds
Speed:295 kph on road, 184 kph off road, 18 kph in water.
Travel Move: 585 km/4 hours
Combat move:135 meters per turn.
Fuel Capacity: 1000 liters of HCD.
Fuel Consumption: .25 liter per hour (endurance of 4 hours)

Combat Statistics
Config: Open
Susp:Wheeled (3)        HF:6
                        HS:6
                        HR:6
Deck                    Belly:6


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 13:24:18 -0500
From: lewis@chara.gsu.edu
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: NPC:Hans Pritcher
Message-ID: <9601111824.AA03342@chara.gsu.edu>

Here is an NPC, well actually he was a PC, but now he is an NPC.
I didn't say which corporation he works for. I figured I'd leave that
up to the individual GM, also he is not tied to anyone campaign setting.
He can be used as an advesary to the players, or as an ally.

Hans Pritcher
CAC977-0-8 Initiative: 5
Skills
Unarmed Martial Arts: 6
Acrobatics: 4
Climbing: 2
G-Suit: 2
Navigation: 4
Swimming: 2
Slug Pistol: 4
Small Blade: 4
Observation: 4
Tracking: 4
Slug Rifle: 4
Energy Rifle: 4

Who am I? The name on my ID says Hans Pritcher. The face matches mine.
I have no memories except in my nightmares.  In them it is bitter cold
and there is no gravity. Each one reveals more of my identity. Even
though they terrorize me, I find myself wanting them so that I can end
this wakeful death.  When I am awake all I know are two names and faces.
BJ Eyzaguirre and Ammel Brodrig.  The first to deliver a message to,
the second to kill. Of course I can't remember what the message is.
I know that I am somehow enhanced. I can see in the dark, others can
not.  I have been unscathed by bullets that penetrate others. I know
that I am somehow more/less than human.  I feel nothing except in the
flashbacks.

Pritcher is an enigma even to himself.  He thinks he might be some sort
of artificial construct, android, cyborg, or bio-construct he doesn't
know, and deep down he doesn't really want to know.  While he tries to
figure out the question of his existence, he has taken up a job working
as a corporate trouble shooter. With the emphasis on shooting.  After
killing a man on the job, he realized that he had killed before, and
fairly often. Another piece of the puzzle.  Pritcher usually carries
several weapons, preferably large caliber handguns.



------- End of Forwarded Message


------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 13:31:29 -0500
From: lewis@chara.gsu.edu
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: The White Star
Message-ID: <9601111831.AA03411@chara.gsu.edu>

Yesterday I posted a Vampire ship, called the White Star. Here are a
few things I forgot to mention.
 I didn't put a location for the ship. I intentionally left that vague,
so it could be used in any campaign. Just pick a White Dwarf that is in
a system that doesn't have a star faring planet.  It doesn't even need
to be in RC space, it could easily be moved towards the Regency, just
change the location of the Observatory.
Lewis

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 12 Jan 1996 08:32:52 +1300
From: Simon.Harding@vuw.ac.nz
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Message-ID: <199601111932.IAA27837@rata.vuw.ac.nz>

A few years ago I took to converting Traveller rules to a new environment. I
figured Traveller could easily be converted for use as rules for role
playing in an ocean/underwater environment. I think in the end it worked
well and my efforts were encouraged by the release of movies like Abyss,
Leviathan, and Deep Star Six, which were very much in sync with how many of
our game storylines developed.
It is an ocean environment of seabed harvesting of manganese nodules and
whale farming (a la Arthur C. Clarke) under a worldwide regime of regulated
homesteading managed by the UN World Trade Federation.
I took some time to investigate the current trends in the regulating of
international waters and seabed mining and tried to extrapolate forward.

I feel there is definite room for an official and properly researched
undersea version of Traveller and I have told Marc Miller so. I only hope
anything like Seaquest DSV can be avoided.

Simon Harding











------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 11:53:08 -0800
From: bmac@astro.ucla.edu (Bruce Alan Macintosh)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Cc: Bruce Macintosh <bmac@astro.ucla.edu>
Subject: re: A Vampire NPC (and astronomy in Traveller)
Message-ID: <9601111953.AA19325@eggneb.astro.ucla.edu>


lewis@chara.gsu.edu (who probably really isn't interested in hearing this)
wrote about his amusing vampire NPC, White Star:


>It really wanted to be able examine a neutron star up close and personal,
>but the nearest one was thousands of parsecs away
>[and hence it decides to dump mass on a white dwarf until it turns into a
Neutron star]


Actually, the number density of neutron stars in the solar neighbourhood is
probably on the order of 2x10-3 per cubic parsec; in a three-dimensional
universe the nearest one is probably about 5 parsecs away. (In the 2-d Traveller
universe the nearest one would be perhaps 30 parsecs away.) Most of these
are old non-rotating single neutron stars, and hence very hard to detect
except through gravitational microlensing (which might not be a bad project
for a hobbyist Vampire; jump to a new system, image a few billion stars,
compare their brightness to the apparent brightness measured in other systems,
look for stars that appear brighter than they should (because an invisible
dense object is near the line of sight to the star), and repeat - it might
take many many years to finally find one, and years and years more to
accumulate enough data to precisely locate the neutron star.

The neutron stars we know about are the rapidly rotating ones which shine
as pulsars, and the ones in binary systems which shine from accretion of
mass from their binary companion. The nearest known one is about 50 parsecs
away. (PSR 1929+10, which is (very roughly) coreward in Traveller terms.)
There are probably a lot of undiscovered pulsars out there, too...

As long as everyone's commenting on Traveller rewrites...it'd be interesting
to have someone with some astronomical knowledge consulting on the project,
to fill in the universe a little with real astronomical anomalies. For
example, black holes are only somewhat less common than neutron stars -
the nearest black hole is probably only about 10 parsecs from Earth, it's
just (again) almost impossible to detect. Each sector could have a black hole
and a couple of neutron stars, which could make interesting adventure
sites.

Another example: the Hyades open cluster is only 45 parsecs rimward of
Earth, with about a thousand stars in an area ten parsecs on a side.
The younger and denser Pleiades is about 130 parsecs from Earth. The Orion and
Taurus-Ophiucus star-forming regions aren't that much farther away (probably
technically too far away for a Traveller campaign, but we could cheat
and move them closer.)

I was also amused by the fact that this (nominally harmless and amusing)
Hobbyist Vampire's avowed goal is to create a
supernova, killing every living thing within ten parsecs or so. Good thing
it's going to take 1e20 years or so.

Unfortunately for White Star, when white dwarfs collapse due to accumulating
mass above the 1.4 solar masses limit, the white dwarf is thought to be
completely destroyed in the supernova explosion, and no neutron star is
left behind.

Bruce Macintosh
bmac@astro.ucla.edu (old)
bmac@igpp.llnl.gov (new)

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Jan 1996 15:46:28 -0500 (EST)
From: Alvin Plummer <alvin.plummer@sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: California Dreaming...
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.960111140528.1881A-100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


Yes, I'm the poor man who asked Santa for a CD with all the Traveller
tidbits/background, finally collected in one place. (One reply actually
asked what 'colour is the sky in my little world!' )

While we're waiting for Marc Miller, Steve Jackson and Rodge Sanger to
sort out who's doing what, here's my personal wish list for Traveller.

A: Big sourcebooks.

I mean, 400 pg's big.  So big, that it may be a good bit wiser to publish
this stuff in CD format than in book form.

[Aside: oddly, I feel that the Basic Rules should actually be kept
smallish, maybe 100 or so pages.  Cheap, excellent cover, nice rules,
starter pack of equipment, fine illustrations, and lot's of basic settings,
including Imperial Stars [the Third Imperium, 1115], Rebellion, and New Era.
Carefully checked for errors and ommissions :]

Now, back to the sourcebooks.  Personally, I have no problem with
non-Classic books being written (either by whoever get's Traveller, or -
even better - by licensed third parties): but what I really want is more
and deep background for the Imperium.

The one sourcebook that would be used by all will be FF&S II.  This item
should run about 400 pages, but I suspect can be sold at a nice profit
(even in book form, rather than CD) *if* it's both comprehensive (See
GURPS: Vechiles for what I mean by 'comprehensive') *and* easy to use.
There should be both the old-fashioned, every-little-detail way of
building things  (to satisfy detail freaks like me) and a modular, quick and
dirty style.  The book *must* come with a disk, containing spreadsheets
for the every-little-detail style.

The other books I'll mention are all focused on the Imperial Stars campagin.
(yes, I'm really, really into the Third Imperium, even more than the
Rebellion or the Regency)

I'd like to finally have a single sourcebook for the Third Imperium, at
400 pages.  It should contain carefully thought out information on it's
cultures, it's government, it's megacorporations, it's history.  The book
should be stuffed with adventure hooks, all tending to draw in the
characters into the pulsing lifeblood of a massive interstellar culture.
Some examples...       - MoJ agents tracking down rumour's of a
                         conspiracy by Ilelish Navy officers, supposedly
                         planning to kill the Emperor.
                       - A Megacorp group trying to outfox and outthink
                         an established competitor, to dominate the
                         production of - oh, low-to-mid tech furniture - for
                         all of Core sector.
                       - Liege servants for the Duke of the Spinward
                         Marches, who is in heated competition with a
                         certain subsector Duke for the title of
                         Archduke of Deneb
                       - Deep undercover Imperial agents, trying to get a
                         major Aslan clan to end a long-standing (even
                         violent) conflict with an Imperial megacorporation
                       - A major Imperial Scout expedition into Hiver space,
                         attempting to finally catalogue all of the human
                         races in that area
                       - Liasion's to the Emperor (characters must all rank
                         at least Baron's or Marquis), trying to get the
                         Julian Protectorate to agree to joint naval
                         excersises on Vargr space

(Hey, we don't *all* have to be free traders, hmm?)

However, in order to get into these situations, you need basic
information about the parties involved.  That's what the Imperium
sourcebook is for.  Finally, odd but interesting tidbits (like, say,
"Knighthoods of the Imperium" or "Current wars within the Imperium"
covering all those multiworld/corporate 'little wars' ) that cover
the cover the Imperium should be included here.

A major sourcebook for the Spinward Marches.  With massive background
material, and hooks similar to that above, but instead of promoting
Imperium-wide adventures, instead goes into the nit and gritty of sector
politics.  (Including, finally, an outline of the sector nobles, covering
all dukes and several of the more important marquis and counts (ie. the
Count of Trin, the Marquis of Efate)   Show what controversies rage in
the Marches, which noble houses are feuding, where are the cesspools and
where are the wealthy.  Also, a good outline of the economic structore
and prominant firms is desirable, as well as some basic macroeconomics.

[For example, I strongly feel that
         - overall, the Spinward Marches is among the poorer regions of
the Imperium (only The Empty Quarter, Verge, and the Glimmerdrift Reaches
is poorer)
         - Jewell, Regina and Aramis subsectors are dangerously
dependent on the heavy Imperial Navy presence economically, while the
rimward regions are too dependent on the resource economy.  This would
provide a certain boom-bust cycle in the Marches, which provide their
own problems, which provide both adventure hooks and an avenue to deeper
player involvement in Traveller.       ]

It goes without saying that UWP's, xboat routes, detailed descriptions
for the 10 most important worlds of the Marches, and a primer on how
Marchmen are viewed by the rest of the Imperium (and how the rest of the
Imperium is viewed by the Marchmaen) would be included.

Another desireable sourcebook is The Imperial Navy (for all those
military nuts out there).  Finally, BL/BR Stats for the most common naval
combatants of the Imperium - *and* for the major non-Imperial states like
the Solomani, the Zhodani, the Aslan, the Julian Protectorate, large
Vargr nations and rading packs, the K'ree, and the Hivers.  A 'roll call'
of major Naval battles and a comprehensive listing of all Imperial wars
until 1115 would be present.  Naval organization and operational
procedures, the 'feel' of the navy, how nobles interact with the navy,
and plans for the future should be included.  A host of naval
adventures and 'set pieces' for Battle Rider fights should be included.
Finally, an updated version of "Trillion Credit Squadron" should be
included, to enable us to fight bigtime wars in a sector-wide scale.

I always wanted a book on 'Personalities of the Imperium'.  All the
Sector Dukes - with character descriptions - on up to the Emperor should
be included, as well as famous non-noble personalities (in Military,
Entertainment, Scientific and Political fields).  This should be a good
deal smaller, say 100 pages.  It may be produced strictly on CD.

"Atlas of Charted Space" is another work that should be kept on CD, as
demand is probably intense but not widespread.  Here, finally, full
names, UWP, xboat routes, bases, etc. of all of Charted Space will be
entered.  And not just this, but descriptions of the ten top worlds in
each of the c.60 sectors, and an overview of each sector should be
included.  A good search engine is a must: also desirable is a number of
brief essays on each and every interstellar government of over 5 worlds,
and a number of essays on Charted Space, from the prominance of humans to
the lack of exploration + settlement rimward of the Solomani Confederation.

Finally, I'd enjoy a number of slimmer, 100-150 pg. sourcebooks.  The
range that these books could cover is huge, including aliens (one alien
per book, please!), handbooks ("The Naval Officer's Handbook" "The
Scout's Handbook" "The Marine's Handbook" "The Merchant's Handbook" "The
Free Trader's Handbook" "The Noble's Handbook" comes immediately to
mind) that cover useful information for their carrer's, varient universes
(The Immortal Nobility, Rebellion, Virus, First Imperium, the Young
Imperium, Ancients!, Lucan Victorious, Zhodane Forever! Conquest of the
Marches, Return of Grandfather, etc.), and all those other sectors (Core,
Empty Quarter, Solomani Rim, etc.)

Of course, all these items should have high-grade writing, fine
illustrations, striking, realistic oil-painting covers by A.C. Farley (who
did such good work in _Vilani & Vargr_ and _Rebellion Sourcebook_), etc.

*****-----*****
Rob, has Marc Miller joined TML/XTML?  If not, please extend him an
invitation!
*****-----*****
Oh yeah, and my address is still temporary.. and probably illegal.
Sysadmin is letting me bye now, but one day...... ZAP! This account
becomed Yet Another Casuality of Virus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvin Plummer
"Preserve what we created, Norris, and remember what we stood for."
                               - Strephon, 179-1126

Reply to: alvin.plummer@SHERIDANC.ON.CA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

End of TRAVELLER Digest 546
***************************
