Alternate Espionage/Cold War Style Campaign Setting

[hunter]

While I love the classic Traveller Spinward Marches setting, having played numerous years among its stars, I always wanted to create my own little 'universe' with its own history and storylines.

Fortunately, Traveller easily allows for this, and what I wound up with was a campaign based on the Traveller rules system but with a decidedly different flavor.

Espionage roleplaying games are also a favorite of mine, so I decided to blend together a Traveller campaign in a Cold-War style setting.

The known universe was less than a sector in size, with all known intelligent/sentient life having developed and moved out from a central world in the sector. There are no intelligent alien life forms known of at the time the campaign commences.

A number of small proto-empires have developed within a roughly 60 parsec radius around the homeworld. These would-be empires are governed by various political ideological groups from the homeworld.

For inspiration on mood, tone, adventures, etc., I can easily draw from our own history of the Cold War in the 20th Century, along with numerous literary sources, Piers Anthony's Tyrant series comes foremost to mind.

Unfortunately, dealing with a game company surprisingly leaves me very little time to actually run an active campaign, and I was only able to run a few sessions before time contraints forced me to close it down.

For those interested, I do have some campaign background information and details available on the web at

http://www.RPGRealms.com/b32

I'd be interested in feedback and comments on the idea and the material available. Hopefully a time will come soon when I can start it up again, and fresh ideas are definately welcome!

Hunter
The GRIP Team

[This message has been edited by hunter (edited 20 February 2001).]

 

[Richard]

You could make a 'Cold War' type setting fit into an alternate timeline of the Imperium. Suppose that the Virus were never released, and the various factions of the Rebellion fought until they were exhausted. Result - A dozen or more paranoid governments, all scheming to come out on top, all claiming to rule the old 'Imperium'. Also, you have large swathes of border territories to create traditional Traveller adventures, as well as room for just the sort of political espionage type game you propose.

 

[tate]

Hunter,

Now that was a fun post to find! I had a great time in your universe; let me know when you're broke and have time to play again.

Warm regards,
Capt Ron, aka Tate (aka Brian)

 

[hunter]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tate:
Now that was a fun post to find! I had a great time in your universe; let me know when you're broke and have time to play again.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey CpnRon!

Thanks! Its definately nice to hear as a GM that your players had a good time!

Actually funny you should mention that, you must not have gotten my ICQ about your GRIP Adventure and the restart of my own campaign again

Only this time around we will be playing in the Imperial Universe, playtesting our upcoming new Traveller material.

It'll be on Fridays starting between 9 and 10 pm EST. You are of course welcome to play again! You'll probably recognize a few faces and a certain Engineer with the incredible skill levels...

PS: I'm having email hassels right now, ICQ me when you get a chance.

Hunter
The GRIP/RPGRealms Team

 

[Murph]

The Cold War/Espionage setting IS already there in the Spinward Marches! What about the Zhodani vs the Imperium? They are in a tense Mexican standoff from the last frontier war till the fifth. Then after the war, I expect that things will go back to normal; i.e. Cold War, active spies.

Look at Arden, the crossroads of the sector in terms of spies and espionage. What about all those Psionic institutes? Its all there if you just want to make use of it.

Bond, James Bond....

 

[kafka47]

It not right to make the Zhos the subject of the Cold War drama. Their relationship with the Imperium is more akin I thought to Maoist China save, that it actually intervines through through war with the 3I. Essentially, an empire in which the 3I cannot break because of psionics. And, they cannot break into the 3I because of their deep distrust of the ways and norms of 3I culture.

The more bond setting, I imagine would be the Solomani Rim. Two equally matched superpowers that can freely cross one one another's borders without too many problems. Although, the Solomani have many visas and whatnot, these can be forged. The closer one would get to the underbelly one can believe SolSec is more active. But, otherwise it is an open border. Furthermore, you have an entire portion of the population of the former Sol sphere that is actively resentful of the 3I presence. Plus, commercial interests in the Confederation wanting to undermine its structure so as to allow greater intergration with 3I.

 

[Murph]

You know, the Reavers Deep Sector, Far Frontiers Sector all could lend themselves to that "James Bond" feel. Or even a darker Cold War type feel.

 

[simontmn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tate:
Hunter,

Now that was a fun post to find! I had a great time in your universe; let me know when you're broke and have time to play again.

Warm regards,
Capt Ron, aka Tate (aka Brian)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey Brian/Cap'n Ron, are you the same guy who played Alidarn in my Ea: Time of Chaos fantasy game?! What a guy!

 

[jatay3]

It not right to make the Zhos the subject of the Cold War drama. Their relationship with the Imperium is more akin I thought to Maoist China save, that it actually intervines through through war with the 3I. Essentially, an empire in which the 3I cannot break because of psionics. And, they cannot break into the 3I because of their deep distrust of the ways and norms of 3I culture.
---------------------------------
Actually I think I would prefer the marches to the rim for a spy story. A good spy story should have more than two sides.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Wow, thanks for reviving this old thread. I missed it the first time around.

Our current campaign is a Cold War-style setting in the Solomani Rim. Great fun. Unfortunately, we only get to play it maybe once every two months or so.

In our game, Imperial Navy Intel is sort of like the FBI in the states, while Scout Service Intel is more like the CIA. The characters all work for Scout Service Intel. There is a sector-wide shipping company which serves as a front company for Scout Service Intel. In fact, most of the employees of the front company don't realize it is a front for the intelligence bureau. They think the PCs are involved in corporate espionage.

 

[Murph]

A book suggestion for "Cold War" type campaigns: Derek Leebeart: The Fifty Year Wound; The real price of the Cold War. Tough reading, but just superb in giving a flavor of the cold war. Heck I lived through it, and some of this stuff was new to me.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002OKA5Y/qid=1107916467/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-6061048-6211214?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

 

[Golan2072]

IMTU there are several opportunities for a "Cold War" style of a campaign; there are several polities and most don't really like each other.

First and foremost is the Triumvirate-Matriarchate conflict, which, despite a shaky cease-fire in the 2330's, was not in any way resolved. Both polities are unable to agree on ANYTHING, from territorial claims, through ideology to the use of technology; the flavor is that of the early 1950's Cold War, in which a third World war was looming around the corner and everyone was sharpening their swords and manouvering for better opening positions in that war (which, in the 1950's example, never really occured; A second Matriarchate war is a real possibility IMTU). Another real-world equivalent would be the Israeli-Arab conflict in it's highest point in the 1960's/1970's, in which each side was unwilling to even recognize the other's existance.

Second in the list of "cold" conflicts is the 30 years old one between the alliance and the Triumvirate. The Alliance, rabidly anti-corporate and disliking strong centralized government (such as the Triumvirate), is still willing to discuss a few issues with its enemy, but are quite harsh negotiators, and never stop their anti-corp agitation in Triumvirate territory (not to mention industrial espionage on corps). It's like the 1970's cold war (with a litle 1950's McCarthy era/1920's "red scares" flavor thrown in; ironically enough, the Triumvirate beraucracy combines a klittle KGB feel - political "advisors" posted on military ships and bases - with Degaull (sp?)/McCarthy "strong state" state-capitalism and nationalism) - both sides agree on the fact that they dislike each other, but do not fight directly; they, ofcourse, spy on each other and spread propaganda on each other. They fight "by proxy", that is, the Alliance is at an unenging war with the corporate-dominated Consortium, and the Triumvirate supplys weapons to it and trades with it on a preferrantial basis.

The last espionage setting is the aftermentioned Consortium-Triumvirate cooperation; that's somewhat like the RL Israel-USA relationship - allies who spy on each other and occasionally cheat each other. The Alliance-Matriarchate relationship is similar to that - with ideological and technological differences added in.

 

[Ran Targas]

^ Espionage plays a major role IMTU. Conceptually, MTU is modelled after the border region between Nazi held Poland and Russia prior to open hostilities. Both governments are extremely militant and totalitarian. Open war existed in the region only 20 years before and although there is a pact of non-aggression, the covert war continues on nearly every front.

The PC's are trapped between supporting a Stalinistic empire (their own), aiding a genocidal enemy bent on galactic conquest and slavery, or attempting to force reform in empire from within, without destroying the fragile truce. This has put them in many compromising situations where they had to side with one empire over the other to prevent the balance from shifting to far to one side. Lots of political intrigue and espionage to be found.

 

[Murph]

You know the more you look at it a Cold War style setting offers lots of possiblities for the players, especially if you subscribe to the Film Noir sort of adventures...

 

[jatay3]

Oddly enough I don't feel the Cold War is the ideal model for spy stories-to bipolar. I prefer there to be a number of players in the game.
Traveller is good for spy stories because it is well drawn up. Also it has one advantage that is not often mentioned-as all the states involved are fictional you cannot offend anyones ideological conceptions unless you go out of your way to do so. Of course different players have their own conceptions of the states involved in Traveller and might be annoyed when those conceptions are strained, however there is more margin for error.
Ideas for Traveller spy stories can be obtained from Peter Hopkirk's Great Game series-it describes espionage and intrigue in a half-explored frontier: just like the Spinward Marches. It may in fact be your best source for the kind of thing you are looking for.
Istanbul Intrigues by Barry Rubin describes spy history centered around a classic "thin edge port".
Such would be similar to Arden. I have a liking for spy stories that take place on more-or-less neutral territory. It is more of a "fair fight"(a fair lurk-in-the-shadows? a fair backstab? well whatever). Also the contrast between the elegant diplomats and the seedy life of startown can be played up to make for good atmosphere.
The espionage in Traveller will be different from the espionage in pre-star flight Earth in several crucial ways. One is the time-any piece of intelligence must be assumed to be out of date by a given number of weeks. Another thing is the ammount of information is overwhelming and is probably indigestible. Probably intersteller states concentrate for the most part on such intelligence that deals with, "the space between the stars"-that may in fact be one manner in which planetary states keep their autonomy: there is no way the overlord can really know what is going on beyond a certain point.
The Peter Hopkirk idea as I said works very well. The competition between the British and the Russians can easily be replicated as the Impies and Zhos, while the King of Afghanistan, say, can fill the role of a local planetary lord with the misfortune of ruling the place where the contest is taking place. The Indian Political Service bore a lot of similarities to the IISS.
And so on.

 

[jatay3]

The GM can actually run a campaign based on a famous tale.
Ideas are Kim, Prisoner of Zenda, Casablanca, etc.