No jump engines

[spank]

Hey,
I'm looking for some input for a campaign I may be designing. The main thing is there are no jump engines, the tech was just never developed. The tech level would still be 16 or so.
The scope would be limited to either 1 system or a close group of systems, 1 primary and 1 or 2 settled/mined, anagathics would play a much bigger roll, at least for travellers. Of course I need to sit down and crunch some travel time numbers to see which setting I will use.
Anyone have any input?

 

[Liam Devlin]

Spank,
may I suggest at least a binary, possibly a rare Trinary system(1-2 per subsector).( or a rarer rosette of 4 stars( 1 per sector) with habitable zones for each, perhaps 2-3 worlds around each star, plus gas giants with moons (some of which may have breathable atmospheres).
Since you are talking about STL (slower than Light) travelling in this system, a lack of lanthanum, and other rare metals/earths needed fo Jump drive technology to evolve, unless using an alien race (which I have seen well done by others here on this forum), the colonization was founded by a Terran STL generation ship (ala like the Reft Sector/ trillion credit sqdn worlds).
Ethnic makeup of colonists, beliefs, religions, etc, again to suit YTU.

To keep this on the level, place the system in a gulf / Rift region 7+ parsecs from anything or more.

Next: They left at TL-8/9, and managed to arrive intact with all of their equipment.
Initial landing world challenges left to you, YTU...
From there, they branched out (population pressures, etc), using their available knowledge from their mothership, eventually arriving at fusion power plants. The mothership itself, may have formed or carried parts to machine and evolve into their first starport(orbital).

What I see you having over time and development of this system's background is the unique lack of the stuff to create a jump drive, but with enough density in this one system, that the drives/needs/ motivations to expand over several thousand years could be met. With a diversity of lifeforms available to keep them there, occupied.
eventually,(depending on YTU timeline), they will encounter beings from outside their experience...(either who misjump there, or have deliberately set out to reach it a well).
Lots of homework here for you.

good luck!

 

[savage]

Nice ideas Liam. Sort of a high tech, intentional Space 1999.

Spank,
Remember that traveller is about ships and star travel. Hence, not using jumps will slow things a bit. This might mean large ships with plenty of onboard activity could be the fix. Or perhaps a few choice jump gates.

Or you might considered integrating stargates leaving the large ships for moving materials.

Savage

 

[Liam Devlin]

Originally posted by savage:
Nice ideas Liam. Sort of a high tech, intentional Space 1999.
________________________________________________
Thank ye sir. One of my Gm's, (and an ancient of this QLI forum site), Bryan Gibson, used this very model for an alien race in the Reft sector known as the "D'kelva".

http://groups.msn.com/ISSUrsula/page.msnw
(under documents page)

I merely extrapolated from previous canon models from the TCS book (colonization)and his example to come up with the above, sans lanthanum necessary for jump drives.

Spank: Remember that traveller is about ships and star travel. Hence, not using jumps will slow things a bit. This might mean large ships with plenty of onboard activity could be the fix. Or perhaps a few choice jump gates.

Or you might considered integrating stargates leaving the large ships for moving materials.

Savage

 

[manley_t]

I ran a campaign exactly like that years ago. I had it just in-system. If you flesh out every planetary body, and moon, and large asteroid, you have enough locals to still make an exciting environment to game in.

My campaign lasted nearly 2 years and at the end FTL was discovered and the players felt that it ruined the campaign. In fact, they've all talked to me fondly about that game; and more than one wishes we lived closer together so I could run another one like it.

If you're interested in talking about ideas and advice just shoot me an email.

 

[spank]

I wasn't so much concerned with why there is no jump drive, just that it is not. I'm still debating about it, what exactly it's state will be, maybe the ciziliation is on the edge of jump-0 or maybe it doesn't work there.

I have two divergent ideas, one they have been trapped the for millenia trying desperatly to reach the next star, population pessure and deminishing resources clawing at them like gravity pulling them back towards the home planet. cycles of technological development, overpopulation and war ending in a lowering of the general tech and cvilization levels. {The Mote in Gods eye}

Or two a newly developed civilization just on the edge of interstellar travel.

I thought about setting, a double or triple just doesn't feel right, at least not as the "primary" system the player start in, maybe as a goal maybe an exotic multiple, four seems like a good number. The core a star would be a single and there would be a far double or triple, or maybe far a double and another far single. Both at least a few light-months out from the primary

I don't think just putting the ship in the rifts would do to keep them isolated even a jump 1 ship could make it across a rift of 10 parces if you useing feul stocked along the way. It would require a lot of ship ferrying feul outward from the system, but it could be done, its how the same way many early explores got to the poles, go out so far, drop half your supplies go back. repeat until you have a long chain of supply depots and can make the run to the goal.

I think all the action that can be had in a whole galaxy can be had in just one system, more infact, there's still the push to get out of the system for example. If the players want to be part of that let them. If not there's politics, war, prospecting, piracy, police work, almost all the things an OTU campaign has, maybe no Bug eyed monsters.

 

[tjoneslo]

If you're looking for background for a one system SF campaign, I suggest you look at one or two of my favorites:

Transhuman space, http://www.sjgames.com/transhuman/index.html Earth in 2100, lots of cybernetics and bioengineering, very hard science.

Blue Planet http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ , another world colonized from Earth.

Jovian Chronicals http://www.dp9.com/Products/JCRPGstart.htm , Big mecha in space...

 

[savage]

Spank,

A ref I knew tried a J1 society and every player said it was dull... just trying to say that spicing it up in other areas would be necessary.

Liam's idea is good. I've thought of having the players find a colony vessel (star trek, lost in space, etc) but never having them be part of that society (aka s1999, starlost, etc).

Here is another idea. A ringworld doesn't require a lot of jump capability. How about a collapsing society trying to stand again. Once it stood as TL20+ now TL15-16.

Cheers.
Savage

 

[valen]

I once did a starwars game like that, except Hyperdrive still exsisted, the PCs never had access to it.

The premise was a small mixed economy self-seficient world is living peacefully, when *bang* and Imperial Star Destroyer shows and proclaims the system for the empire and the PCs become freedom fighters and rebels with out ever leaving there own homeworld.

 

[spank]

I thought about doing somthing kind of like that, a two planet system at war, or a single trying to repel an invasion, but I don't want to limit the scope of the campaign like that. I don't want to make the PC's go to war.

 

[plop101]

Well, theres always Double Star, if you can find a copy of it somewhere...

 

[spank]

??? Double star what's that?

 

[BeRKA]

Something like "L'empire des mille planètes" (The Empire of Thousand Planets) by J-C. Mézières would be an interesting RPG setting.

This is within one system that has lots of habitable planets, and all planets are ruled by the same corrupt emperor, and the merchants are getting ready for a revolution...

 

[spank]

I kicked the Idea around with some of my potentiel players, I think a revolution is out, maybe just a war in one corner of the system{s}