Exploration Campaign Idea...Thoughts?

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

Hey all,
I've been toying with this idea for some time and I want some feedback from you folks.

One complaint that alot of new (and not a few older) Traveller players have is that there is no "new frontier", Lewis-and-Clark kind of exploration adventure out there for Imperium-based adventurers. I've tried to correct this misnomer with survey adventures, first contact adventures and so on, but I've hatched onto an Idea...

Suppose that in the heart of Core Sector there is a working Ancient or Primordial artifact. Suppose this artifact is a warp-gate. It is active for only a given period of time from a given approach angle and is undetectable by modern sensors. The Imperium has known about this gate for centuries and has instructed the IISS to leave the brown dwarf system off the Survey charts. The only thing in the system is a large space station, and a full battle-fleet (with supporting units) as the guards. No gas giants, asteroid belts or what have you.

Now the kicker... the other end of this warp gate is in a sector to corward and trailing of what the Zhodani call Savria Sector. That is to say, along the route and to one side of the Core Expeditions... The Imperium has a battle squadron and a naval base at the other end and has contacted maybe 10 worlds in one subsector, but represents itself as a human-vargr empire to trailing. Their whole mission is three-fold... to provide lead-time data for LONGBOW, to explore and see what is out there, and to surveil the Zhodani exploratory effort. What is so important to the Zhodani out here?

How do the characters get involved? Three ways... commissions reactivated, criminal pardons, or one party member was once a member of Project Bullseye.

One big key... Imperial scientists do not fully understand the workings of the gate, but they have learned to analyze the energy fluxuations during a transit and calculate the time of the next opening. There does not seem to be a pattern, so when an Imperial ship transits through, they arrive with the time of the next opening.

Now, I freely admit to getting this idea from several sources. CT's Alien Book 4: Zhodani, T4's The Long Way Home and Gateway, DGP's Vilani and Vargr and some discussions from this board have all contributed to the Evil Plot. A completely new sector, unmapped as far as my research can tell, a mission worth doing, and some real life exploration...ought to be plot hook enough for anyone.

What do you guys think?

 

[Whipsnade]

Ganidiirsi O'Flynn wrote:

"I've been toying with this idea for some time and I want some feedback from you folks."

[snip of a very intriguing setting]

"What do you guys think?"


Mr. O'Flynn,

What do I think? I think it is superb, that's what I think.

I also think that you needn't sweat the setting's 'McGuffin' too much. Present the warp gates or whatever as a deus ex machina. There is nothing for the PCs to learn about the warp gate because no one that they deal with has any real knowledge of it. Folks simply know that it works in a limited fashion and all the boffins studying it haven't clued anyone in on any other bits. The PCs are simply hired or ordered to the terminus system, stuffed through the gate, and go about their business. Make it quick and have all the NPCs chant 'I dunno' when all the PCs' questions arise.

Onto some campaign mechanics; CT's Zho Alien Module has rules for detecting star systems and gas giants at distances ranging in parsecs. IIRC, the IISS section in MT's WBH deals with interstellar sensors too. Certain platforms like the IISS' Donosevs can determine the size, atmo, and hydro ratings of target worlds with a some accuracy.

Seeing as how your 3I has a naval base already running at the CoreSide Terminus, I'd guess they've scouted and picketed every system within 6 parsecs just to avoid any untoward surprises. The PCs will thus be operating beyond this Six Parsec Pale.

Merchants may prove helpful in this endeavor. Your warp gate's odd operating cycle make resupply of the CoreSide Terminus a problem. If trading relationships for basic supplies; i.e. foodstuffs, can be developed with the surrounding systems, a large part of the supply headache goes away.

TNE's RSB explicitly states that the Imperium built, manned, and operated several system-sized Longbow arrays several sectors coreward of the Vargr Extents. These warp gates could allow the Imperium to place a Longbow system even further coreward. The machinations surrounding location selection, construction, and operation of a Longbow could provide the PCs with scads of work.

Please let us know how your campaign plays out. I'm certain I am not alone in finding this setting fascinating.


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

True enough, Larsen, on all points. One thing I'm toying with is having Imperial technology only at the Farther Terminus. All other vessels and equipment in Project Bullseye would be from local sources (another good task for our merchie friends). Oh, there might be the occaisional sighting of a large ship wilderness refuelling by locals, but that could be written off as a Zhodani sighting especially with a little cosmetic hull design.

The players are in on a Big Secret, with a Big Job to do. That's the crux of the campaign. Suppose that one of them is an Imperially trained psion? Or that all of them look like relatively short racial Zhodani. That might even allow for actual on-enemy-ground type fun. Or what about that Vargr government that is suddenly curious about all this activity in the middle of nowhere... All SORTS of crunchy bits to chew on.

The big stick is twofold. If they get caught by the "stinkin' Zho' mind-rippers" then they get psionically stripped of all useful intell and then "re-educated". If they don't do their job for the Imperium, they don't get to go home.

I haven't started it yet, but before I put together anything but UPP's, I wanted experienced player/gm input. So, thanks for your thoughts so far.

 

[marginaleye]

The players are in on a Big Secret, with a Big Job to do. That's the crux of the campaign. Suppose that one of them is an Imperially trained psion? Or that all of them look like relatively short racial Zhodani. That might even allow for actual on-enemy-ground type fun.

If you haven't already done so, you might consider taking a look at the "personality overlay" technology described in "Adventure 6: Expedition to Zhodane." If a lone academic can cobble together a device that allows him to wander among the Zhodani without instantly attracting attention, presumably the Imperium's intelligence agencies know how to do so, too. Of course, I strongly suspect that "personality overlay" is a kind of "icky" process (since it involves hypnosis, psychoactive drugs, and the implantation of false memories) which would introduce some interesting role-playing possibilities (challenges?) for the players.

 

[shield]

Excellent idea. a few thoughts

If I were the Imperium, I would use local produced equipment (more denyable), but add in a few high tech force modifiers (TL15 computers, screens, Factor 1 black globes for those very sneaky missions.) And yes the imperium does have its own naval intelligence psions - project blackheart proved that, and the personality overlay device was designed by imperial intelligence.

Have you seen the deep shadows mission, it is another zho core mission adventure following on from Double Adventure 1. it has the zho sneaking around some unexplored systems as part of the last core mission.

Remember that ancient projector does occassionally give the zho high command visions, and they may have been alerted to the imperial presence (even if the visions are a little vague)

The explorer scout from the T4 adventures would make quiet a nice ship for the PCs.

Hope that helps.

 

[Whipsnade]

Ganidiirsi O'Flynn wrote:

"Suppose that one of them is an Imperially trained psion? Or that all of them look like relatively short racial Zhodani."


Mr. O'Flynn,

Bingo! Your worries about questions regarding the warp gates are now moot. The PCs undergo radical surgical modifications to pass as Zhos; increased melannin(sic) production skin tones, hair transplants for color(1), leg extensions for height, various facial and dental mods(2), bio-mechanical psi shields stuffed in their skulls, all the bleeding edge 57th Century stuff you can think of. They are then shipped down your Very Long Subway Tunnel while still recuperating! Voila! No questions about warp gates because they slept through the trip!

Having merchies shopping around locally to supply Operation Bullseye is a great idea too.

Mr. Eye wisely mentioned the personality overlay machine from CT's 'Expedition to Zhodane'. It would be a very nice addition to your campaign. The machine was provided by INI to the civilian professor so the spooks working at Farther Terminus should have access to one too. TNE's Regency Sourcebook has a good essay hinting at the cyber-mechanical accomplishments the Imperium made with regards to psionics. If you think of the Real World's continual ECM vs. ECCM merry-go-round, you'll be able to come up with plenty of ideas and gimmicks on your own.


Sincerely,
Larsen

1 - Zhos are primarily brunettes with premature greying occuring frequently. As a GM who began greying in middle school, my PCs used to make all sorts of unkind remarks. It may be grey, but my hair is still all there, chrome domes!

2 - The Zhos have fewer teeth than Sollies or Villies; 28 vs. 32 IIRC.

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

....And ANOTHER thing...

Has anybody thought of the mayhem you could wreak on characters with the Sick Idea of a Vargr populated world with the Zhodani cultural overlayed? Without nessessarily removing the conflict for dominance, you could in fact impose many of the Zhodani cultural values on a Vargr civilization without too many problems...

<cut away to crew lounge>

[Engineer] "Captain, I'm not sure I like the way the jump grid is distributing power. Ever since that last tussle with the Ach*tang it's been acting up. We damned near mis-jumped that last time."

[Captain] "I agree, but what can we do about it? Terminus is on the other side of that rift. Gotta be three months away, if it's one jump."

[Astrogator] "Eleven weeks, assuming something goes wrong and we have to lay over a week somewhere."

[Captain] "Exactly. Best we can do, Spanner, is head around and hope for the best."

[Engineer] "What about Rreghdzon? Survey says it's TL 12. Got the equivilent of a Type A 'port. They should be able to help...."

INSERT VARGR/ZHODANI WORLD HERE

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

Larsen, my system wants to drop into hotmail when I try to PM you. Would you kindly PM me and give me your email address? I want to drop an idea or two on this to you for your opinion.

And for that matter, if anyone else has some thoughts on this, I would really like to hear them. We've all done major work starting up campaigns that the players didn't like or that just didn't strike the right cord with the group. Before I really put a couple hundred hours in on this, I'd like to get other viewpoints.

 

[jhulse]

In the center of the abyss (spinward marches) have a secret research station orbiting a small black hole. You will have to explain the reasons most people don't know its there. Your P.C.'s have to deliver an important scientist / supplies to the station. There is a tragic accident and the P.C. start falling towards the black hole. They cannot escape using their maneuver drive, so they are forced to jump, knowing full well a catastrophic miss-jump will take place. They end up across the Emperium, and in the past in the Gateway region during the Solomini Rim War. Or, you can pull a Star Trek Voyager... Let them try to figure out where they are after the misjump, then they have to spend a few years trying to find their way back into Emperium space, discovering new systems, races, and cultures along the way.