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The Unseen Servant forums • Game blurb, references, and setting notes
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Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 7:11 pm
by ffilz
I will be using Classic Traveller 1977 Books 1-3 (with some text taken from 1981), though I am seriously considering the range band space combat from Starter Traveller.

I have been taking a lot of Christopher Kubasik's ideas to mind (and the other folks who have also been posting in the same vein), so reading his blog will be useful for getting a feel for where I cam coming from.

I have in progress, reasonably happy with, modified skill tables for Supplement 4 which I am open to discussion with players about.

Setting will be my own, currently working on a 2 subsector area somewhat inspired by the Seven Sisters and District-268 subsectors of the Spinward Marches that is at the frontier and beyond of "the imperium" (whatever that is...). The encounter tables and procedures in the books (and more tables I pull from other places or just flat out make up) provide a lot of implicit setting. I've posted a map here in this board.

My concept within the setting is that the PCs are mostly ex-military (with Merchants and Other thrown in of course, plus possibly the odd Supplement 4 career or two) all having mustered out on the same world, or having made their way there. I will leave it up to the players to add more definition as to why they know each other, but I think that should be a given (or if someone is unknown the the group, the players have primed things so we don't play the "we all meet in the bar and get into a fight). I'm assuming someone will muster out with a ship and the group has an interest in exploring the sandbox and figuring out what they can make of it (trade, trying to find a world to exploit, just wandering, whatever).

But it's a sandbox, and it's your game as much as mine, so ultimately we will work together and I hope something exciting will emerge from play.

My campaign has a web page with links to my house rules, setting information, various inspections of Traveller material (including a section by section comparison of the various versions of Classic Traveller) and links to all of Christopher Kubasik's blog posts on Traveller:

https://ffilz.github.io/Gaming/winedark.html

Re: Kicking off

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:22 pm
by ffilz
Ok, time to get a bit rolling here...

Tegel is a balkanized world with a dense tainted atmosphere.

Merchant Senior Captain Baron Wen Rodríguez has recently mustered out, and taken papers for the Free Trader {fill in name} with a 30 year mortgage remaining. The ship has recently had it's annual maintenance.

The other characters have also recently mustered out.

Unfortunately, this was perhaps the wrong time and place to muster out.

Ryefield was the capital city of the Roglaroon Federation, but has recently been captured by forces from the dictatorship Modron. Imperial forces are holding the Modrones at bay for the moment, but the situation is somewhat dicey. A leadership team from the Roglaroon Federation has set up in one of the nicer taverns in the starport. They have been begging the imperial forces to intervene and bombard the capital of Modron.

You may purchase equipment (up to TL 12) at the starport, but some items may be in short supply or more expensive.

Fogbound is an un-populated world that was destined for settlement, but when the Imperium started to have troubles back home and pulled back from the region, the colonization effort never got underway.

While you are meeting each other in a tavern, a man comes up to you and asks if you have a ship departing for Fogbound in the next week.

Re: Game blurb and various references

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 6:52 pm
by GodricTheWell
It would be nice to collect all reference links, images here (character generator, ship maps, sector maps, etc.)

Re: Game blurb and various references

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:31 pm
by ffilz
GodricTheWell wrote:It would be nice to collect all reference links, images here (character generator, ship maps, sector maps, etc.)
Ok, here this will be a curated list:

Campaign web page: https://ffilz.github.io/Gaming/winedark.html
Generator: https://ffilz.github.io/Gaming/travellercharacter.html
Campaign reference with characters, deck plans, crew positions etc.: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_81 ... sp=sharing
House rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YEP ... sp=sharing
Price List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SqE ... sp=sharing
Skill tables for Supplement 4 careers: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kS3 ... sp=sharing
For the edition nerds, my section by section comparison (helpful if your copy of Classic Traveller isn't 1977, or you want to find out more about any rule bits I've taken from the other versions): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jsH ... sp=sharing

Player Reference Documents
Kiara Surabi - current PC ship
Maize Star - previous ship
Wayward Sun - page for ODD74 campaign
The One That Got Away - an aborted play group

If there's anything else missing, let me know and I'll update this list.

I also need to update my campaign web page to assure that all of this is actually linked from there (and then you would really only need the 1st link...)

Re: Mazie Star Finances

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:21 am
by ffilz
Eris asked for a date: 1231:037

I will be updating maps, Fogbound will be D665665-1.

Bistron is still a population 0 world, however, it is on a major trade route, and most of the merchant ships in this region of space are J-1, Type A and Type R. There are some Type M liners with J-3, but they are rare compared to the Type A and Type R. Due to this, trade through Bistron does occur, the normal charts will be used to generate cargo and passengers between Fogbound and Koradin, and due to the market, people suck up and pay double ticket price or 2 kcr per ton of cargo.

The ship has been properly mothballed, and got annual maintenance just before being mothballed, so there should be nothing in need of repair. The next mortgage payment of Cr 114,100 (I'm adjusting for 13 payments per year) is due in 28 days.

Now for some rumors:

Runaway environment has swamped Bistron and flooded all it's cities. The Class B high port still operates. There is sure to be sunken wealth for those willing to brave the freak storms that wrack the world.

The company in charge of the fuel concession at Arthiop charges double and there has been trouble with sabotage.

Kauran has an Area-51 and there is supposedly some kind of ancient orbital station the Marines are charged with preventing from awakening.

Textiles are particularly cheap at Ludgates, made from silica fibres mined from the moons. Gems are often found during the mining with low grade Cystals being more common. Radioactives are also easily found. One moon (Fizzer) produces pharmaceuticals.

On Sheddezar, where it sometimes is hard to tell the difference between the ocean and the atmosphere, divers seek out strange crystals in underwater caves. A fellow Scout whispers to Sara that some think the crystals may unlock psionic potential, and as such, might be of interest to the Fizzer corporation at Ludgates, but don't let the locals know that, they are raging anti-psi. He also mentions that there might be some shipping crates of diving gear abandoned at the star port warehouse.

Shedezar has a gas giant mine that is largely run by robots and a small anti-social human administration.

Re: Kicking off

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:51 pm
by ffilz
I've been doing some thinking about Fogbound... I think I might actually merge the UWPs:

D665665-1
and
E568000-0

And go with E568665-1. It has a gas giant, so D vs E isn't that bad (either way, you can only get unrefined fuel...).

That actually lets me still use the world I had in plan for Fogbound (and with hydro 8 vs 5, actually fits the name better - it will be a foggy world...). A million TL-1 inhabitants won't materially affect the other plans for the world.

As a further note, it would actually be a nice world to settle refugees on. And the patron that came by the tavern would still be interested in going there.

Just some things to think about...

BTW, over the next 9 days (weekend and next week) I may not manage to post as often.

Frank

Re: Game blurb and various references

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 7:10 am
by Eris
Here's a link to a closeup map of the Imperial Area of Wine Dark with a table of locations, names and UWP's.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2P ... AALCMj/pub

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:07 am
by GodricTheWell
I didn't like the low resolution and un-editable-ness of the Mazie Star ship document. So, I recreated it in Illustrator. Here's a Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:40 am
by ffilz
GodricTheWell wrote:I didn't like the low resolution and un-editable-ness of the Mazie Star ship document. So, I recreated it in Illustrator. Here's a Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0
Nice, thanks.

Frank

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:09 pm
by Eris
GodricTheWell wrote:I didn't like the low resolution and un-editable-ness of the Mazie Star ship document. So, I recreated it in Illustrator. Here's a Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0
Nice deckplans.

Are the only Air-Locks directly onto the Bridge and directly into Engineering? I'd really, really, prefer to keep passengers off the Bridge and out of Engineering!

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:14 pm
by ffilz
Eris wrote:
GodricTheWell wrote:I didn't like the low resolution and un-editable-ness of the Mazie Star ship document. So, I recreated it in Illustrator. Here's a Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0
Nice deckplans.

Are the only Air-Locks directly onto the Bridge and directly into Engineering? I'd really, really, prefer to keep passengers off the Bridge and out of Engineering!
There's supposed to be an air lock into the passenger lounge, see the deck plans in the Google Doc.

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:34 pm
by Eris
ffilz wrote:
Eris wrote:
GodricTheWell wrote:I didn't like the low resolution and un-editable-ness of the Mazie Star ship document. So, I recreated it in Illustrator. Here's a Dropbox link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0
Nice deckplans.

Are the only Air-Locks directly onto the Bridge and directly into Engineering? I'd really, really, prefer to keep passengers off the Bridge and out of Engineering!
There's supposed to be an air lock into the passenger lounge, see the deck plans in the Google Doc.
Ah, okay! I see that in your deck plans. It's the most forward of the two unmarked spaces on the starboard side of the passenger lounge. The square is just missing the >| |< marks to indicate a lock on the new deck plans. The other unmarked square is probably the pantry/galley for the passengers?

Eris

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:46 pm
by GodricTheWell
Good catch, those doors got buried underneath the layer containing the outline of the ship. It has been fixed, PDF updated.

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 8:55 pm
by GodricTheWell
Re: the cargo hold... we have a two-deck ship, but does that mean there are two cargo decks? Or, does the cargo hold expand from the floor of Lower Deck to the ceiling of the Upper Deck?

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:03 pm
by Eris
GodricTheWell wrote:Re: the cargo hold... we have a two-deck ship, but does that mean there are two cargo decks? Or, does the cargo hold expand from the floor of Lower Deck to the ceiling of the Upper Deck?
Excellent Question!

I saw that you have to pass through the cargo hold to move from the Bridge to Engineering. I there is one double height cargo hold then there will need to be: 1. a ladder or lift to get down at one end and back up at the other or 2. catwalks extending through the ship from front to back. Right?

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:43 pm
by ffilz
Eris wrote:
GodricTheWell wrote:Re: the cargo hold... we have a two-deck ship, but does that mean there are two cargo decks? Or, does the cargo hold expand from the floor of Lower Deck to the ceiling of the Upper Deck?
Excellent Question!

I saw that you have to pass through the cargo hold to move from the Bridge to Engineering. I there is one double height cargo hold then there will need to be: 1. a ladder or lift to get down at one end and back up at the other or 2. catwalks extending through the ship from front to back. Right?
I interpret the cargo hold as a double height deck, with double height cargo doors. The bridge and passenger deck is the upper deck, so a catwalk isn't all that necessary (steward will cross the cargo hold deck and come up the hatch into the passenger lounge, or up a ladder in the cargo bay and through the iris valve. It does make sense there might be a collapsible catwalk which may be deployed depending on what is actually in the hold.

One interesting rework of the plan would be to swap the decks of the back half.

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:49 pm
by GodricTheWell
ffilz wrote:One interesting rework of the plan would be to swap the decks of the back half.
I have no idea what the various door symbols mean... There could be ladders implied in there... I don't think we need to run a catwalk because, technically, the cargo bay helps provide a barrier between the crew and passenger quarters. I was going to make some suggestions about how we could adjust it... but thinking about it, we might want to really reinforce that separation.

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:13 pm
by ffilz
GodricTheWell wrote:
ffilz wrote:One interesting rework of the plan would be to swap the decks of the back half.
I have no idea what the various door symbols mean... There could be ladders implied in there... I don't think we need to run a catwalk because, technically, the cargo bay helps provide a barrier between the crew and passenger quarters. I was going to make some suggestions about how we could adjust it... but thinking about it, we might want to really reinforce that separation.
That's the intent of the deck plan. Yet I can still see a catwalk designed to fold down from the ceiling.

The door symbols that look like a filled in X are iris valves that seal, the ones that have little "handles" sticking out are manual doors (like a current day submarine water tight door) while those that are just a broken line are non-sealing pocket door.

Here's a key for most of them:

Image

The floor or ceiling hatches definitely imply a ladder of some sort. This deck plan with some hatches coming out halfway up the cargo hold wall definitely also imply ladders to reach them (with a corresponding lift up section if the cat walk is deployed).

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 1:34 am
by GodricTheWell
Thanks, that's helpful... for identification.
I'll update the DB link with a door key, if for no one else, for myself!


LINK UPDATED: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vthgomwy3vhj0 ... p.pdf?dl=0

Also, there are two branching rooms on the upper deck at the back of the cargo hold. They are separated from the staterooms and have chairs facing outwards with some sort of control panel or something on the walls. Are these gunner positions? Internet cafe style comm stations for travellers?

Re: Game blurb, references, and setting notes

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 2:22 am
by ffilz
Gunner positions