Originally posted by Aubaine:
I'm just about to start up a TNE game. This is the first time my friends and I have played Traveler, and I'm planning on starting us in the HubWorlds setting. A few questions.
1) What's the Black Curtain?
2) What's important to cover to learn the game?
3) What's a black globe? It's listed under the Screens cascade but there's no description.
And, most importantly: do you have any suggestions?
Welcome to the boards, Aubaine! Glad to hear that you're running TNE, as there are never enough games out there.
To answer your questions:
1. The Black Curtain is an area of space that is under the control of a particularly nasty form of Virus. This Virus has merged with Lucan (Emperor Strephon's son, who was responsible for much of the devestation of the Rebellion as well as the creation of Virus) and is keeping him alive using anagathics on Capital, the former Imperial throneworld. The reason that the Black Curtain's there is that nobody on the outside knows what's going on inside- for the simple reason that there are so many Vampire ships in there that nobody's survived to report back.
That's the extremely abridged version. If you want more details, may I suggest the "What Would You Ask Dave Nilsen?" thread that's stuck to the top of this board? It's a long but incredibly rewarding conversation with the TNE game designer, in which he talks a fair bit about the details of what's behind the Black Curtain.
2. I'm not sure what you mean here- do you mean "Which rules do I need to read to be able to run the game effectively?", or "What do I need to convey to my players in order for them to play?"
3. Black Globes are an extremely rare form of screen technology. When activated, they create a spherical black field around the ship they are mounted on, which absorbs all energy fired at the ships and stores it in onboard energy banks. The field will continue to absorb energy until the storage banks are overloaded, in which case it must be switched off or it blows up and generally ruins your day.
The reason there isn't a description in the TNE main book is that they're very rare- the Third/Last Imperium was just starting to learn to build them when the Rebellion broke out, and most of the ones out there were artifacts from older civilizations. If you're playing in the HubWorlds, black globes are only going to show up if you decide they would be a cool plot device for the players to chase.
As for why the Black Globes skill is in the book if they're so rare...I have no idea. You can ask Mr. Nilsen if he ever makes it back here.
Edit: As your game progresses, would you consider posting reports here on the forums? People here like to hear about folks getting to play the game, and you'll find us a pretty good sounding board for ideas or dilemmas you may have.
As for suggestions, what type of campaign were you thinking about running?
