Category: SAFCOcast

SAFCOcast 22: Interview with Greg Caires about Virtual Traveller

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In this episode we talk to Greg Caires about the October 2020 Virtual Traveller non-con that he and Ken Patterson organized. Always fun to talk to Greg!

Relevant links:

SAFCOcast 21: Mailbag, Rules and Internet Finds, and Session Discussion

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This first light image from the Callisto telescope at the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) shows the famous Horsehead Nebula . First light for a newly commissioned telescope is a tremendously exciting time, and usually well-known astronomical objects such as this are captured to celebrate a new telescope commencing operations. The SSO is installed at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the vast Atacama Desert, Chile, and consists of four 1-metre planet-hunting telescopes. The project’s telescopes are named after Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and are neighbours of ESO’s Very Large Telescope and VISTA . SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.

In this episode we read some great email’s from listeners! Lots to think about! We also cover Internet Finds and Rules Finds, and discuss the latest session of our Into the Void Classic Traveller campaign!

Relevant links:

 

SAFCOcast 20: the Elements of a Traveller Game!

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In this episode Jeff and Bob discuss the basic elements of a Traveller game, as detailed by Marc Miller in the Traveller Book.

Before that Bob does a short correction from the previous episode,  we do Internet Finds, and some fun Rules Finds, as well as present the last of the planets submitted in our Random Planet Generation Smackdown! (that system appears below, under the relevant links).

Relevant links:

 

Random Planet #9!

Faddle – from Pete Burke

C589632-8   Ni

Faddle is a cold, icy world with most of the surface covered in permafrost.  

There is a band approximately 400 miles wide around the equator that is comfortable and is actually considered pleasantly tropical.  The atmosphere is dense which helps create the effect Faddle is famous for – the floating “Udrassi” mats. 

Udrassi is a native organic lifeform that straddles the line between fungus, plant and animal life.  The udrassi combine into large circular floating mats that organize around a central hub.  On each hub,  three pools of amino acids are arranged in a triangular pattern – early colonists to the planet were able to quickly determine that by adding saline water of specific concentrations to the pools in certain sequuences, the mats could be raised, lowered or steered and also directed to attract or repel other floating mats. 

The mats are extremely strong – some colonists built houses and larger buildings anchoring into the mats themselves.  It wasn’t long until early colonial families created resort hotel compounds for tourists by assembling larger mats together – and by manipulating the hub pools on the mats, small towns developed by combining mats together.
  

The planet is mostly a recreation destination – the floating lifestyle of the permanent residents is very laid back .  Some floating resorts stay in the tropics all year round, while others float to a mountain range south of the equator in the permafrost region where a ski resort has been set up.

SAFCOcast 19: More Random Planets!

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In this episode we are focusing on two more of the random planets submitted during our Random Planet event a few months ago, this time from Dwayne “Hiverlord” Walstrom and Jonathan Daylett (check out his Desert World RPG – a great adaptation of a Mad Max style setting).

Before that we dig into a couple of items from X-Boat Transmissions, and end with a recap or our own last gaming session from our Into the Void campaign.

Here are the planet/system writeups…

From Hiverlord
Planet/System: Not Assigned
Rolled with T5 rules.
FV main star (no companions). Standard orbit. Temperate climate.

B735BDG-9 Hi In

GG=0 PB=3 No bases.
Importance (Ix)=2 Ranks worlds within a region
Economics (Ex)=BA9(-2)
Culture (Cx)=6D68
Population= 102 Billion
Hi=Hi population
In=industrial

With an extremely high population level and poor atmosphere, this overwhelmed planet is run by an accepting, yet overbearing and stern, Religious Dictatorship. The religion itself promotes, perhaps even encourages, Free Love, and has strict rules against contraceptives and most forms of abortion. Birth (and survival) rates are high, given the planet’s TL of 9. Combined with longer lifespans associated with higher technology, the world quickly reached and exceeded its purported capacity.

Several nearby Agricultural worlds have a ready-made market with this extremely overpopulated system.

This world is located in a ‘Dumarest’-style setting, with no significant interstellar powers. The reasons why this world hadn’t begun expanding (aggressively or otherwise) is simple to deduce: with over 100 Billion citizens to support, it doesn’t have any resources to spare for expansionist activities.

From Jonathan Daylett

Planet/System: Aristodma
Rolled with combination of Mongoose Traveller 1e and 2e
CAB2654-9 R Ni

Large, extremely hot planet with a corrosive atmosphere and scant water. Rich in phosgene and hydrogen chloride, very valuable chemical compounds used in plastics and technology manufacturing. Due to the high gravity, the densest parts of the atmosphere are much lower to the ground, allowing for research stations, collection facilities and refineries to be built on the highest points of elevation.

The primary authority is a feudal technocracy. What began countless rotations ago as a corporately owned resource, Aristodma is now home to millions of people who live in ports, research stations, and other dense plastic fortresses. They are governed by those with the highest level of understanding of the environmental hazards present. People came here for the high risk, high reward lifestyle of gas-farming. Over the years, however, it became apparent that there were those more suited to the dangers involved, and they soon became leaders among the people. Generation by generation, the highly profitable gas-farmers have gained a reputation of shrewd but fair governance.

It has worked well enough, until recent years as a few other factions started to see the cracks in the system and decided to try and make their own ways of life beyond the confines of primitive feudalism. Now those in command have to contend with not only an environment that is actively trying to kill them every second of every day, but with a contentious minority group that steals technology and parts for building new facilities as well as a political faction that seeks to upend the centuries-long reign of those who see themselves as de facto rulers of Aristodma.

SAFCOcast 18: Classic Traveller Combat, Mailbag, and other Stuff

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Our main topic, inspired by one of our SAFCO Mail Bag submissions, is a discussion of the combat procedure from Classic Traveller.

We also go through some great mailbag submissions, discuss the Central Supply Catalog supplement for Classic Traveller, Timothy Collinson’s Generation-X Traveller book, and Internet Finds!

Thanks to everyone for listening.

Relevant links:

SAFCOcast 17: interview with Ken Patterson, about the upcoming Virtual Traveller event

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This episode is an interview with Ken Patterson, regarding the event he and Greg Caires are organizing for October 2020 — Virtual Traveller: a Weekend of Virus-Free Roleplaying.

The event can be found here, on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1205944649744350/

Jeff and I had a good time talking with Ken! We appreciate him coming on, and hope you enjoy the interview.

SAFCOcast 16: Traveller Session Recap, Imperial News, Etc

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In this episode we discuss their last Classic Traveller session (written recap here on Bob’s gaming blog). We also do Internet Finds, Imperial News, and Rules Finds.

Links and info from the show:

SAFCOcast 15: Random World, Awesome Online Con Game, and Other Traveller Delicacies

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Weirdly we had no XBoat Transmissions this time! We need email!

In this episode, we get back to our Random Planet Generation project by reading about Algira, a planet created by Patrick Kanouse (full description below). Really nice work, Patrick!

We then move on to Internet Finds, including…

  • Darkest Stars, a Classic Traveller Fanzine by Omer Joel and Paul Elliott
  • Jeff finds two Traveller articles in online copies of the old Dragon magazine. Dragon #43 p 35: Traveller Adventure “Canard” by Roberto Camino is the first. We’ll post the other on our next episode!
  • Stray RPG Thoughts. Just found this  blog. Dude has amazing stuff about mega corps and the super rich in RPGs. Highly relevant for Traveller, Cyberpunk, or whatever.  https://strayrpgthoughts.blogspot.com/

Our main topics was our participation in an online Classic Traveller Game run by Greg Caires, as part of the online offerings of this year’s North Texas RPG Con. It used Greg’s Sappers character class, which appeared in Freelance Traveller, September/October 2019: Character Generation Rules: Deep Space Rescue Corps: A Career for Classic and MegaTraveller.

We wrap up with News of the Imperium, a new segment in which we discuss upcoming convention games and events relevant for Traveller, upcoming or recent product releases, and anything else that fits.  This time it included…

SAFCOcast 14: Traveller on Roll20, Session Recap, and other Traveller Stuff!

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In which Jeff and Bob discuss a very nice mailbag submission, recap the last Classic Traveller session of their Into the Void campaign, discuss their end-times transition to the Roll20 online system, and various other fun things like some rules finds! Also, Bob drops an f bomb that must be bleeped, thus revealing his true, dark nature!

SAFCOcast 13: Interview with Robert Eaglestone

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We are honored and happy that Robert Eaglestone, of the Xboat ‘zine joined us for conversation on this episode!

For those who don’t know, Rob did a very successful kickstarter for a four issue Traveller ‘zine called Xboat: a Traveller5 Zine. It’s a great publication! Bob and Jeff talk with Rob about his beginnings in Traveller, the zine, and of course playing the game!