Last week, I mentioned a computer program called TravGen that I used to have and lost in the process of upgrading my computer. After poking around online, I found a link to the program on Frank Filz's Wine Dark Rift Classic Traveller Campaign website. I've downloaded it and have been having fun playing around with it over the last few days. It's a great little mini-game with which to procrastinate when I should be doing other things and I highly recommend it to anyone else looking for something similar. I also recommend Frank's website, which has lots of interesting ideas and resources for players and referees of classic Traveller.
What did I say? Second character I rolled with this was a one- term Army Captain.
ReplyDeleteI've had one of those. The cool thing - you wind up with SIX skills! You are pretty much guaranteed a useful character.
DeleteWhile you’re on a Traveller kick, it would be interesting to hear why you made some of the design choices you did in your own Thousand Suns game, vs. Traveller mechanics. Personally, while I enjoyed Traveller, I always found the 2d6 mechanics to be overly constrained for long term play. 2d12 allows for more variance in power levels, which was a better fit for my gaming preferences.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the idea of moving up from 2d6 to larger dice; the variance on 2d6 gets completely swamped by DMs of more than 2 or 3 or so.
DeleteAfter a quick read, it seems Mr. Filz's Wine Dark Rift setting has a lot in common with the (in)famous "lost" setting found in CT's Book 0; The Moladon Federation. Both would be a heck of a lot of fun in which to play.
ReplyDeleteMy setting was inspired by Christopher Kubasik's examination of the Five Sister's sub-sector of the Spinward Marches, and noticing with District-268 a continuation of the "rift." But with the Spinward Marches, I noticed that the Imperium came from the right, or base of the rift, reducing the interest of figuring out how to cross the rift or take the long way around.
DeleteNone of my campaigns lasted long enough for PCs to explore very much or remotely consider getting across or around the rift, though I did base one campaign in Tarantis instead of the Imperium. One PC in a mostly one player campaign that started at Ludgates did make it to Magain or Blackwell (I forget which).
One campaign started with Tegel falling to civil war and the PCs evacuating.
Many thanks for the link! And 2D12 looks like an interesting choice indeed.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you found a working copy! I actually spent some time looking at the site I linked but couldn't get anything working.
ReplyDeleteI have been following your recent thoughts on CT. I even went so far back as to search for/through all blogs I could find that you've shared on/about CT and its variants in the distant past as well. I find this enjoyable, informative, and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI have never played CT, but have misgivings and oversaturation with my primary ttrpg and its group. I want and crave something new, fresh, exciting. I have; therefore, decided to follow along with you on your CT travels (as recorded currently) and process this game's material, fantasy, ethos, etc., bit by bit (as time, money, and interest permit).
Like another anonymous poster, I too wonder about the sci-fi ttrpg you created (1000 Suns), why you made it the way you did, and if you still prefer CT over your own creation, why did you take the time to develop your offering initially? What is/was the purpose of 1000 Suns, if not to improve over the original? Or was it simply something you needed to get out of your head for evacuation's sake (which can be rewarding enough in its own right)?
What got me interested in your CT posts was the solo play suggestion/acknowledgement for/from the game's original creator/design team. I think for now, at least, given my oversaturation and disappointment with my primary ttrpg experience, I'll be playing/exploring CT solo (with your insights, of course, to help guide me). I hope this will afford me an interesting mental exercise and reignite my interest/passion in ttrpgs in general.
Best of luck and well wishes for you, your endeavors, your family and friends, etc., and a Happy New Year.
Oh! That style of app takes me back. =D
ReplyDeleteI used to have a number of CharGen programs like that, for a wide range of systems, I found off the internet. More over, ones that made mecha/vehicle construction for Battletech and Silhouette easier. Mind you, I can do them easily -- with BT, I really enjoy doing to a comical degree -- but I find it easier to expedite the process, more so when making variants and tallying all the final costs get way too tedious.
I'm glad you found what you were looking for. The sad state of the internet is that everything will, someday, eventually go 404, down the Memory Hole. There are somethings worth preserving.
I vaguely remember some early CRPGs that had something similar; I expect this was more common than you think. From a realism perspective it's kind of illogical, but from a *game* perspective it gives the characters a chance to refresh, relax, and reload without having to leave the dungeon and start afresh. Think of it as a naturalistic "save point."
ReplyDelete