Massilia / Knightfall

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster (in another topic):
I play in the Imperial Core (Massilia) so I don't need to worry about the vargr and aslan incursions and therefore I don't!

He. I am wondering how many of us MT lovers started a Massilia Campaign after getting hands on Knightfall... I had a FTF group there for years.

I think Rebellion-times Massilia was an excellent adventuring setting. There are a number of very interesting clusters/groups, like the matriarchal Rebin Empire, the Geonee worlds (sadly never mentioned in Knightfall, and of course the cluster detailed in Knightfall itself (whatever it was-- My copy of KF is 2,500km away). Now *that* would be my setting if I wanted to play in the OTU.

Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

 

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster (in another topic):
I play in the Imperial Core (Massilia) so I don't need to worry about the vargr and aslan incursions and therefore I don't!

He. I am wondering how many of us MT lovers started a Massilia Campaign after getting hands on Knightfall... I had a FTF group there for years.

I think Rebellion-times Massilia was an excellent adventuring setting. There are a number of very interesting clusters/groups, like the matriarchal Rebin Empire, the Geonee worlds (sadly never mentioned in Knightfall, and of course the cluster detailed in Knightfall itself (whatever it was-- My copy of KF is 2,500km away). Now *that* would be my setting if I wanted to play in the OTU.

Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

 

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster (in another topic):
I play in the Imperial Core (Massilia) so I don't need to worry about the vargr and aslan incursions and therefore I don't!

He. I am wondering how many of us MT lovers started a Massilia Campaign after getting hands on Knightfall... I had a FTF group there for years.

I think Rebellion-times Massilia was an excellent adventuring setting. There are a number of very interesting clusters/groups, like the matriarchal Rebin Empire, the Geonee worlds (sadly never mentioned in Knightfall, and of course the cluster detailed in Knightfall itself (whatever it was-- My copy of KF is 2,500km away). Now *that* would be my setting if I wanted to play in the OTU.

Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

 

[T. Foster]

My love for Massilia in the Rebellion Era isn't really connected to Knightfall (which I don't even really like). It has more to do with the pre-Rebellion sector notes from TD11 (which are, admittedly, reprinted in KF), the Hub Worlds writeup in the TNE rulebook (extrapolated backwards), and just generally the sector's ideal positioning as a border between 3 Major Powers -- that the cosmopolitan center of Imperial Culture could find itself becoming overnight the front line of a war-zone. The rules changed drastically for the people of Massilia sector, and they changed very quickly. Learning to adapt to this paradigm shift is, to me, the essence of great adventure and makes Massilia the perfect setting for Rebellion-era campaigns. Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it (the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

 

[T. Foster]

My love for Massilia in the Rebellion Era isn't really connected to Knightfall (which I don't even really like). It has more to do with the pre-Rebellion sector notes from TD11 (which are, admittedly, reprinted in KF), the Hub Worlds writeup in the TNE rulebook (extrapolated backwards), and just generally the sector's ideal positioning as a border between 3 Major Powers -- that the cosmopolitan center of Imperial Culture could find itself becoming overnight the front line of a war-zone. The rules changed drastically for the people of Massilia sector, and they changed very quickly. Learning to adapt to this paradigm shift is, to me, the essence of great adventure and makes Massilia the perfect setting for Rebellion-era campaigns. Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it (the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

 

[T. Foster]

My love for Massilia in the Rebellion Era isn't really connected to Knightfall (which I don't even really like). It has more to do with the pre-Rebellion sector notes from TD11 (which are, admittedly, reprinted in KF), the Hub Worlds writeup in the TNE rulebook (extrapolated backwards), and just generally the sector's ideal positioning as a border between 3 Major Powers -- that the cosmopolitan center of Imperial Culture could find itself becoming overnight the front line of a war-zone. The rules changed drastically for the people of Massilia sector, and they changed very quickly. Learning to adapt to this paradigm shift is, to me, the essence of great adventure and makes Massilia the perfect setting for Rebellion-era campaigns. Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it (the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

I didn't mean I ignore the aslan and vargr entirely IMTU, I was just referring back to a comment I made (in another thread) about how IMTU I can use the canonical accounts of the alien incursions essentially unchanged as 'what the PCs have heard' and since it's just distant background data that doesn't affect their daily lives several sectors away I don't need to worry about whether or not those canonical accounts are actually plausible (or, rather, how to make them more plausible, 'cause by now we all know that as written they're totally implausible).

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

I didn't mean I ignore the aslan and vargr entirely IMTU, I was just referring back to a comment I made (in another thread) about how IMTU I can use the canonical accounts of the alien incursions essentially unchanged as 'what the PCs have heard' and since it's just distant background data that doesn't affect their daily lives several sectors away I don't need to worry about whether or not those canonical accounts are actually plausible (or, rather, how to make them more plausible, 'cause by now we all know that as written they're totally implausible).

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
Btw, even if yoy don't have to care about the Aslan/Vargr, it's not so far away that you can't have Aslan/Vargr characters... IIRC, one of the "official" KF characters was Vargr.

I didn't mean I ignore the aslan and vargr entirely IMTU, I was just referring back to a comment I made (in another thread) about how IMTU I can use the canonical accounts of the alien incursions essentially unchanged as 'what the PCs have heard' and since it's just distant background data that doesn't affect their daily lives several sectors away I don't need to worry about whether or not those canonical accounts are actually plausible (or, rather, how to make them more plausible, 'cause by now we all know that as written they're totally implausible).

 

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster:
Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

He he. Agreed. I did ran KF, sort of. Actually, took the trade nuggets and random events apart, and used the stuff for inspiration. I still think KF was a great supplement... but I agree it would have been better if the adventure would have been replaced by more sector background.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.

(the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

Hmmmm... if you want to start a PBEM in Rebellion's Massilia, count me as a player.

Carlos

 

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster:
Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

He he. Agreed. I did ran KF, sort of. Actually, took the trade nuggets and random events apart, and used the stuff for inspiration. I still think KF was a great supplement... but I agree it would have been better if the adventure would have been replaced by more sector background.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.

(the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

Hmmmm... if you want to start a PBEM in Rebellion's Massilia, count me as a player.

Carlos

 

[Geonee]

Originally posted by T. Foster:
Alas, Knightfall didn't capture this feel nearly enough IMO (the Rebellion is pretty much incidental to most of the action of the adventure). I did appreciate getting names and UWPs for all the worlds (though I've altered many of the latter IMTU) and the detailed system descriptions for the Khishan cluster, but I find the adventure itself significantly lacking (even without the cheesy Primordials business) and have never had any desire to actually run it.

He he. Agreed. I did ran KF, sort of. Actually, took the trade nuggets and random events apart, and used the stuff for inspiration. I still think KF was a great supplement... but I agree it would have been better if the adventure would have been replaced by more sector background.

I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.

(the fact that I haven't had an active Traveller campaign for several years makes it harder to find/keep inspiration).

Hmmmm... if you want to start a PBEM in Rebellion's Massilia, count me as a player.

Carlos

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.</font>[/QUOTE]There's really not much to see and you wouldn't be impressed. When I said 'outline' that's literally what I meant -- not any sort of rough draft manuscript; just a 1-2pp list of chapters and bullet-items of likely content topics (i.e. nothing anyone else couldn't have whipped up given a couple hours' thought). Drafting an outline for what you'd like to see in a product is very easy. Converting that outline into pages of actual text is appreciably harder.

That said, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to post the outline -- perhaps there's a nugget or two buried in there that might inspire someone (maybe even me?!) to actually do some work on it. When I get a chance I'll try to dig this up and if it's not too embarrassing I'll probably post it here.

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.</font>[/QUOTE]There's really not much to see and you wouldn't be impressed. When I said 'outline' that's literally what I meant -- not any sort of rough draft manuscript; just a 1-2pp list of chapters and bullet-items of likely content topics (i.e. nothing anyone else couldn't have whipped up given a couple hours' thought). Drafting an outline for what you'd like to see in a product is very easy. Converting that outline into pages of actual text is appreciably harder.

That said, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to post the outline -- perhaps there's a nugget or two buried in there that might inspire someone (maybe even me?!) to actually do some work on it. When I get a chance I'll try to dig this up and if it's not too embarrassing I'll probably post it here.

 

[T. Foster]

Originally posted by Carlos:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> I've got filed away somewhere the outline for a Rim of Fire-esque Massilia-Under-the-Rebellion Sourcebook I've always wanted to work up for web-publication (or, in an ideal world, convince QLI to publish as a Travellers' Aide) but I've never made much progress on it

I would be very interested to see that. I eventually lost most of my campaign notes (well, my Geonee stuff I still have), but I am still somewhat familiar with the sector.</font>[/QUOTE]There's really not much to see and you wouldn't be impressed. When I said 'outline' that's literally what I meant -- not any sort of rough draft manuscript; just a 1-2pp list of chapters and bullet-items of likely content topics (i.e. nothing anyone else couldn't have whipped up given a couple hours' thought). Drafting an outline for what you'd like to see in a product is very easy. Converting that outline into pages of actual text is appreciably harder.

That said, I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to post the outline -- perhaps there's a nugget or two buried in there that might inspire someone (maybe even me?!) to actually do some work on it. When I get a chance I'll try to dig this up and if it's not too embarrassing I'll probably post it here.

 

[kafka47]

Actually, I found it was the Challenge series of adventures "something... Blue Feather" that peaked my interest in Massila. I found Knightfall too tightly scripted and had my players railroaded. The sectors that were of greatest interest were Corridor & Vland,thanks to Flaming Eye.

 

[kafka47]

Actually, I found it was the Challenge series of adventures "something... Blue Feather" that peaked my interest in Massila. I found Knightfall too tightly scripted and had my players railroaded. The sectors that were of greatest interest were Corridor & Vland,thanks to Flaming Eye.

 

[kafka47]

Actually, I found it was the Challenge series of adventures "something... Blue Feather" that peaked my interest in Massila. I found Knightfall too tightly scripted and had my players railroaded. The sectors that were of greatest interest were Corridor & Vland,thanks to Flaming Eye.

 

[Whipsnade]

"Actually, I found it was the Challenge series of adventures "something... Blue Feather" that peaked my interest in Massila."


Sir,

'Knights of the Blue Feather' perhaps? The PCs find themselves knighted for their service to Margeret's Faction? Naturally the reward for a tough job well done is tougher job that needs doing!

"I found Knightfall too tightly scripted and had my players railroaded. The sectors that were of greatest interest were Corridor & Vland, thanks to Flaming Eye."

The DGP adventure nugget system did have an unfortunate tendency to lockstep a campaign along one and only one path. IIRC, the Shadowrun RPG has a nice linked adventure setup that can be easily 'ported into Traveller.


Sincerely,
Larsen

 

[Whipsnade]

"Actually, I found it was the Challenge series of adventures "something... Blue Feather" that peaked my interest in Massila."


Sir,

'Knights of the Blue Feather' perhaps? The PCs find themselves knighted for their service to Margeret's Faction? Naturally the reward for a tough job well done is tougher job that needs doing!

"I found Knightfall too tightly scripted and had my players railroaded. The sectors that were of greatest interest were Corridor & Vland, thanks to Flaming Eye."

The DGP adventure nugget system did have an unfortunate tendency to lockstep a campaign along one and only one path. IIRC, the Shadowrun RPG has a nice linked adventure setup that can be easily 'ported into Traveller.


Sincerely,
Larsen