So, as I was playing with another subsector idea, and found myself bogged down, I stepped away for a mental distraction. Some movies, a few articles, and working on some long-pending model kits... and, lo and behold, a different (yet related) idea popped into my head. Also - full credit - Murph's "Shanghai Chronicles" helped kickstart some of it as well.
Many examples of Classic Traveller and the offshoots point to the Golden Age of Sail and Exploration as a motif - long distances from the home government, limited communication, and so on. It's a great model, and I certainly support it and how it wraps into the LBB offerings.
There's another way to riff off the same vibes, and that also helps (to my mind at least) paint a picture of the role some of the ships, settings, and characters might represent: Pulp Era fiction, particularly anything set sub-equatorial/Far East. Call it anything from 1900's - 1940's, depending on your feel.
Think about it: There are still "Empires," but any central government is far off. At the same time, there's exploration, struggles for independence, merchant trade houses, espionage, mystery, and so on. Characters can easily run that range of social classes and backgrounds, yet also have a justifiable reason for now being some "adventurer" rather than living a settled life back home. Campaigns could be power struggles, exploration, small unit proxy wars, or diplomatic maneuvering in some fancy multiculturalcity starport. The "nation" across that mountain border, or two islands over, becomes the system a jump away. Perhaps everyone is human, and different cultures - or, those (sometimes exaggerated) cultural differences become the tropes of each alien race. If you lean towards a small-ship setting (as I usually do) it gives a different perspective to build from.
100 dton Scouts? Tell me that's not a DeHavilland Beaver or Grumman Goose, hopping in and out of places no other craft can easily get, carrying anything from mail to people to small valuables. 200 dton Free Traders? Tramp Steamers, whether sailing near Singapore or going upriver a la The African Queen. 400 dton SDB? That's the "mosquito fleet" PT boat in space, my friend. Patrol Cruisers? Frigates and Destroyers of the Grey Navy, showing the flag wherever they sail.
Not to mention the adventure gold mine that movies, books, serials, and the like provide... cut and paste your next planet in, change a few names, and even the newest referee has a resource of plot points and twists to work from.
Just an idea for a different set of spices for a familiar dish. I'd be curious as to what others take from it...
Many examples of Classic Traveller and the offshoots point to the Golden Age of Sail and Exploration as a motif - long distances from the home government, limited communication, and so on. It's a great model, and I certainly support it and how it wraps into the LBB offerings.
There's another way to riff off the same vibes, and that also helps (to my mind at least) paint a picture of the role some of the ships, settings, and characters might represent: Pulp Era fiction, particularly anything set sub-equatorial/Far East. Call it anything from 1900's - 1940's, depending on your feel.
Think about it: There are still "Empires," but any central government is far off. At the same time, there's exploration, struggles for independence, merchant trade houses, espionage, mystery, and so on. Characters can easily run that range of social classes and backgrounds, yet also have a justifiable reason for now being some "adventurer" rather than living a settled life back home. Campaigns could be power struggles, exploration, small unit proxy wars, or diplomatic maneuvering in some fancy multicultural
100 dton Scouts? Tell me that's not a DeHavilland Beaver or Grumman Goose, hopping in and out of places no other craft can easily get, carrying anything from mail to people to small valuables. 200 dton Free Traders? Tramp Steamers, whether sailing near Singapore or going upriver a la The African Queen. 400 dton SDB? That's the "mosquito fleet" PT boat in space, my friend. Patrol Cruisers? Frigates and Destroyers of the Grey Navy, showing the flag wherever they sail.
Not to mention the adventure gold mine that movies, books, serials, and the like provide... cut and paste your next planet in, change a few names, and even the newest referee has a resource of plot points and twists to work from.
Just an idea for a different set of spices for a familiar dish. I'd be curious as to what others take from it...
