Classic Traveller Science Fiction Game

TRAVELLER: Moving On Up in the Spinward Marches

The IMPERIUM; an interstellar community that spans many parsecs and where challenges and dangers abound. The Fifth Frontier War with the mentally-adept Zhodani is over, and worlds and economies are recovering, with plentiful opportunities for bold and intelligent traders.

"Commerce is the Glue that holds the Imperium together." You hear that a lot in Starport Taverns and Corporate Boardrooms all over the Marches. And indeed, the Imperium takes business seriously. Individual planets are free to rule their own affairs pretty much unimpeded by any concerns short of Weapons-of-Mass-Destruction, Slavery, and impediments to trade. That last being the most serious of all...

Trade between interstellar communities is encouraged by word and by policy. Despite being dominated by "MegaCorporations" along the most profitable and busiest routes, that still leaves room for small independent companies and even individual ships to make profits along the seams; on the less traveled routes and with more 'interesting' cargoes.

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This is a Science Fiction game using the 'Classic' Traveller rules. Relatively rules-lite and role-play heavy. This is an ongoing game with several existing player-characters, but a couple of more would fill out the Ship's Crew Roster nicely!

Characters are members of a Starship Crew just starting out on their own. Trying to turn a profit following the trade routes through the Spinward Marches. With skill and some luck, fortunes can be made. But bankruptcy is nearly as likely in the competitive world of interstellar trade. Pilot, Navigator, Engineers, Medic, Steward. Perhaps a member who can provide military-grade security. Or hack a computer. Or drum up business in a port's underworld.

The Imperium is "Human Space", divided among Solomani and Vilani, plus any number of other Human types and factions. Aliens include reptile-like winged Droyne, honor-obsessed Aslan with a vague resemblance to Earth 'lions', and Vargr, uplifted gene-altered proto-wolves taken from Earth eons in the past and now dominant in that part of the Galaxy known as The Extents. And many more peoples and alien-sophonts to encounter and perhaps strike deals with!

Buy Low, Sell High!

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The game is PG rated. A bit of swearing, the occasional brawl or gun-fight, and maybe even a little romance. But abstract; no gory details.

Characters can be created by the GM based on your ideas; or you can make your own using Book-1 of the original 3-book set. Characters from the Citizens of the Imperium supplement might be a possibility, too. But all need to be created with the idea of being part of a Commercial endeavor, the crew of a Far-Trader, an Interstellar Merchant Ship.

The game centers around commerce, with chances now and again for some dangerous adventures. But to keep your ship you have to cover the costs. That comes first!

Most anyone is welcome to this game. You will be expected to participate regularly (3 or more posts weekly) and to cooperate with the other players. Courtesy and respect are important. Imagination is a must!

Please contact GM playbydave and lets talk things over. Thanks!

Hey there! I'm very interested in joining your game. I've never had a chance to play Traveler before, but have always wanted to. The hard sci-fi setting is very appealing.

Oooh, a LBB game in the wild! I'm kind of tempted, but the mercantile stuff is my least favourite part of any version of Traveller!

To get the obvious out of the way, I assume you're not doing character creation iron man style?

Howdy. I will send a game invite. We're just getting started here and I'm still figuring out how to do things on 'Gamers Plane'. You do not need to know much about the game to get started, though I often assume that players know the setting. If I post something you don't 'get' just ask, no penalties for getting the info needed to make the game fun.

Howdy. I have an ongoing Traveller game that we're porting over from the Tavern_Keeper forum, which is shutting down. We're trying to do an old-school style "Get Rich or Go Broke" Interstellar Trading game, but with side adventures along the way. Sometimes its those side-quests that generate the credits to keep the ship in business!

I don't understand the "Iron Man" character generation reference. I prefer characters generated through collaboration, though the starting point is a standard character from Book-1 or "Citizens of the Imperium". There's a good character generator at Bat-in-the-Attic games if you're inclined.

Clearly Merchant characters work best for the game, but Scouts, 'Other', and Navy backgrounds are OK. A bit more of a stretch to find crew slots for Army and Marine characters.

Should I send you an invite to the game? We're just getting going here and still learning about Gamers Plane. I'm still having some trouble getting used to it.

I believe Tiffany was referring to the fact that during Traveller chargen, one's character can actually die.

Ironman character generation became an option with later editions. According to the RAW for the LBB, if you died, you died. Start over. In later editions, this was optional, referred to as Ironman character generation.

Hadn't heard that terminology before, thanks!

I'd like to join your crew Captain. I've played a little Traveler in the past (although I usually end up brutalised by the Life - Path Chargen!). I've been playing with the Bats-in-the-attic generator and have a nice little hacker rolled up :-)

My reprint version from '81 already has an option for survival, so they patch it pretty early on! Though my slightly battered '77 version, not mine originally, has the dead your dead version. And sure if you have room I'll give it a shot.

interested - played with the lil' books back, back, far back in the day.

I'll send out invites to TiffanyKorta and lemagne. If they both 'stick' in the game that puts us at capacity!

Thanks for everyone's interest.

Just to be clear, this is the 2022 Mongoose Traveller?

Oh no! This is the original, Little Black Books Traveller. From back in the dawn of roleplaying time. I have nothing against Mongoose-Trav, but I'm way old and old school and the original rules work for me.

And anyway, I emphasize roleplaying. Though dice rolling has its place. The rules are there to give some structure and consistency. But I'm not a slave to them!

If space opens up at any point I would be interested in participating in Little Black Books Traveller. I managed to pick up the PDFs in a Bundle of Holding deal in the past few months. One of the guys at work who plays Pathfinder thinks I’m a nerd for being interested in Traveller.

Just tell him it makes you more OSR than he is! :D

OK. So rolling up from the original Characters & Combat - or is there some house rules method? or am I getting ahead of things?

I'm a little behind the curve on this still, sorry. But accept the invite to the game and look what's been posted there.

Possibly the easiest way to do this is to use the Classic Traveller Character Generator at Bat-In-The-Attic games. https://www.batintheattic.com/traveller/

I'll shoot out an invite to you. Then if any of the current invitees fail to follow through I can get you right in. Deal?

I don't see an invite in my DMs yet?