Traveller burnout.
Sep. 2nd, 2005 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreContemplating the theoretical upcoming campaign, and the results of the quiz (which will be redone in a few weeks, and please, this time only answer if you are interested in a game that you will be able to attend!) I realized that while most people wanted SF/Space Opera, I am completely burned out on Traveller right now.
Probably the result of too many attempts to write something new for the setting. I'm just too close to it, too immersed in its lore and legends. I need something fresh to excite me.
So, it has been decided. My WH40K variant universe campaign. The Twilight Regency. This setting steal liberally from WH40K, Renegade Legion, Dune, the Foundation Trilogy, and every other good "epic story of galactic empires crumbling."
Long story short. Centuries ago, mankind was ruled by an exceedingly powerful psionic talent. Unfortunately, his chief adviser and Warlord fell into the thrall of (or willingly joined with) one of the Chaos Lords. Chaos beings live in hyperspace. Their motivations are unclear, beyond enjoying twisting minds and destruction. The forces loyal to the Emperor fought the ever-growing armies of the Traitor for decades, until finally the Chaos Armada headed for Old Earth. There, the two sides met in titanic struggle. The Emperor and the Warlord killed each other, but their deaths left an imprint in hyperspace, called The Shout officially (the Scream by most on the frontiers) it is a shining beacon in hyperspace, making navigation far easier.
Hyperspace navigation is a psionic ability. Over the centuries, families of Navigators became increasingly powerful and influential, eventually owning most of the ships they guided. Navigation is dangerous, for to navigate, one has to expose oneself to the Chaos creatures lurking in sevenspace. Not so big a problem inside the Shout, but along the edges... there are wolves in the deeps, and they hunger.
There are three main power groups in the Regency of Man.
The Regency Government. Controls the Army, the Fleet, and the Bureaucracy. Disadvantage, ponderous and rife with political maneuvering.
The Church of the Undying Emperor. Controls the Inquisition and the dread Space Marines. The official religion of the Regency, the Church teaches that the Emperor did not die, but instead ascended to a higher plane, and will return one day to save the pure. Disadvantage: run by fanatics, they cannot see beyond their holy orders.
The Trader Families. Factionalized and squabbling most of the time, these families of carefully bred Navigators wield enormous influence and power simply by controlling most of the shipping in the Regency, and all of it around the edges of the Shout. Immense resources, a Trader patriarch can demand a ship the size of Manhattan divert course to carry him to a desired location. Disadvantage" lack of unity.
The campaign would be set on the frontier, where what the Regency and Church have feared for so long has begun: The Shout is fading. Slowly, year by year lesser Navigators can no longer detect its comforting beacon. To the faithful, God is deserting them. To the dissidents, the time has come to rise up. For the authorities, the need to crack down will never end.
I see the campaign as being sort of "Blake's 7". A group of people all wanted by the Regency for whatever reason on the run and striking where they can.
Probably going to order Star Hero this weekend. I think this game would work best using Hero System.
Probably the result of too many attempts to write something new for the setting. I'm just too close to it, too immersed in its lore and legends. I need something fresh to excite me.
So, it has been decided. My WH40K variant universe campaign. The Twilight Regency. This setting steal liberally from WH40K, Renegade Legion, Dune, the Foundation Trilogy, and every other good "epic story of galactic empires crumbling."
Long story short. Centuries ago, mankind was ruled by an exceedingly powerful psionic talent. Unfortunately, his chief adviser and Warlord fell into the thrall of (or willingly joined with) one of the Chaos Lords. Chaos beings live in hyperspace. Their motivations are unclear, beyond enjoying twisting minds and destruction. The forces loyal to the Emperor fought the ever-growing armies of the Traitor for decades, until finally the Chaos Armada headed for Old Earth. There, the two sides met in titanic struggle. The Emperor and the Warlord killed each other, but their deaths left an imprint in hyperspace, called The Shout officially (the Scream by most on the frontiers) it is a shining beacon in hyperspace, making navigation far easier.
Hyperspace navigation is a psionic ability. Over the centuries, families of Navigators became increasingly powerful and influential, eventually owning most of the ships they guided. Navigation is dangerous, for to navigate, one has to expose oneself to the Chaos creatures lurking in sevenspace. Not so big a problem inside the Shout, but along the edges... there are wolves in the deeps, and they hunger.
There are three main power groups in the Regency of Man.
The Regency Government. Controls the Army, the Fleet, and the Bureaucracy. Disadvantage, ponderous and rife with political maneuvering.
The Church of the Undying Emperor. Controls the Inquisition and the dread Space Marines. The official religion of the Regency, the Church teaches that the Emperor did not die, but instead ascended to a higher plane, and will return one day to save the pure. Disadvantage: run by fanatics, they cannot see beyond their holy orders.
The Trader Families. Factionalized and squabbling most of the time, these families of carefully bred Navigators wield enormous influence and power simply by controlling most of the shipping in the Regency, and all of it around the edges of the Shout. Immense resources, a Trader patriarch can demand a ship the size of Manhattan divert course to carry him to a desired location. Disadvantage" lack of unity.
The campaign would be set on the frontier, where what the Regency and Church have feared for so long has begun: The Shout is fading. Slowly, year by year lesser Navigators can no longer detect its comforting beacon. To the faithful, God is deserting them. To the dissidents, the time has come to rise up. For the authorities, the need to crack down will never end.
I see the campaign as being sort of "Blake's 7". A group of people all wanted by the Regency for whatever reason on the run and striking where they can.
Probably going to order Star Hero this weekend. I think this game would work best using Hero System.
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no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 11:47 (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 12:12 (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 15:48 (UTC)I will also point out that the Traveller Hero pdf is about half the size of the original draft proposal, Marc Miller edited a fair bit, which we expected, and he also let us add a couple of things that he originally said were probably too much
no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 12:10 (UTC)You might want to look into Herogames.com's online store. They have free shipping over $20 IIRC and currently have a Star Hero Bundle (SH, TE, AW, STK) Star Hero, Terran Empire, Alien Wars and Spacer's Toolkit, normally $104 for only $60.00. Star Hero SRP is $30.00 and from the looks of it the other books could do a lot of the work for you. Not sure how good your HERO-fu is. Doesn’t look like they have damaged copies of Star Hero at the moment.
HTH.
no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 12:31 (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 13:34 (UTC)or
https://secure.compnetco.com/herogames
Then click on the Bundles button near the top upper right
or
https://secure.compnetco.com/herogames/browse.jsp?categoryID=6
It should be the firat bundle listed.
Star Hero Bundle (SH, TE, AW, STK)
SKU: DOJHEROBUN001
no subject
Date: 3 Sep 2005 15:51 (UTC)I've talked to Steve Long about the idea of taking an area of TE space for fan development, sorta like whats been done with the TML landgrab among other things, he said to get back to him after Worlds of Empire is published