The Chamax: Gotta Love To Hate 'Em!

[Blue Ghost]

BG,

I can't even begin to count the number of times I ran Death Station or some variant of it. It's just so easily plundered and it's so very malleable.

The best version I suppose involved the Active Duty IISS campaign I've written about before. The players were the crew of a Suleiman in the Trin's Veil Subsector and their leader was "tuft hunting" for a knighthood. (That was something the player himself came up with for the character. I gleefully accepted the suggestion because it gave me a great handle on him.)

The group boarded the lab ship off Burtson, IIRC, and immediately ran into one of the survivors. I'd "ginned up" things a bit because the players had 5 or 6 PCs/NPCs including a pair of "gun bunny" types. After another survivor bumped into the group on the bridge all hell broke loose. That led the tuft hunter to lose his patience and he "solved" the problem by venting the entire ship to vacuum.

I suggested via a NPC that venting the ship might be the best choice, calling the idea "simplistic". It was a poor choice of words on my part because he only got angrier. I'll always remember his words as he keyed the venting procedure:

"I like simple. Simple works".

Of course, one of the survivors killed in the venting was a relative of the person the leader needed to sign off on his knighthood application.

Ooops.


Regards,
Bill

Hehe, yup, love Death Station. Some players take to it more than others.

The Chamax double adv was worth a couple of nights' entertainment.

 

[sabredog]

Striker, AHL, Snapshot, Mayday, Inv. Earth, 5FW, Dark Nebula, Imperium are all in the Games Big Floppy Book... not exactly PLAYABLY, except for Striker, but rules, countersets, and boards are all there.

I got the book, but yeah, I had to make my own map for Imperium (my all time favorite) along with pasting a copy of the counter set on cardboard to cut out. Its all still worth the investment.

I dunno if 5FW would drive me insane to do that with or not. And nobody I know wants to play it - too long compared to Imperium, which seems just right for an evening of beer and pretzel gaming when taking time off from Traveller.

 

[aramis]

We just need to cobble together the Vassal "box" for it, Sabredog...

 

[Whipsnade]

Robject,

My take on the Chamax sophonts, huh? Be careful what you wish for...

Let's start with both a proviso and a question.

Proviso: The Chamax sophonts should be "alien" aliens and not available as player-characters.

IMHO and as I've repeatedly stated, removing a species from the pool of potential PCs frees the depiction of that species to a huge extent. Moving a sophont species into the NPC or Event category allows the GM to create a more memorable, more otherwordly, more alien species. Once an alien sophont enters the PC category, that species devolves into Bob, the dog guy from Accounting, Bob, the four-armed guy from Accounting, Bob, the starfish guy from accounting, or Bob, the guy with plumbing supplies glued on his face from Accounting.

Question: How was a species able to build automated sleeper ships which can cross a parsec missed?

Think about it for a moment. The sleeper ships landed on Raschev in 1107 after taking about 400 years to cross the single parsec between that system and Alenzar. That means they were launched in the early 700s at the latest. By 700 the region has already seen the arrival of the Itzin Fleet, the Darrian Flowering, the arrival of the Gram Fleet, Zhodani exploration and contact with those two pocket empires, refugees fleeing the advancing Imperium, the arrival of the Imperium, the settlement of both the Marches and Foreven, the First Survey, two Frontier Wars, more refugees from those wars, and any number of traders, explorers, and just plain nosy people.

And yet in all that activity and all that time the Chamax sophonts somehow remained a complete mystery. InStarSpec apparently doesn't have a clue that the earth-like world in the system whose belt they're exploiting was once home to a technological species.

How were the Chamax sophonts seemingly missed? Why wasn't a civilization capable of building the sleeper ships apparently not detected? Why weren't they contacted? Why wern't they missed when the Chamx Plague devoured their world? Why were the Chamax sophonts seemingly forgotten? How could all this have plausibly happened?


Regards,
Bill

 

[sabredog]

We just need to cobble together the Vassal "box" for it, Sabredog...

Vassal Box?

 

[Blue Ghost]

Robject,

My take on the Chamax sophonts, huh? Be careful what you wish for...

Let's start with both a proviso and a question.

Proviso: The Chamax sophonts should be "alien" aliens and not available as player-characters.

IMHO and as I've repeatedly stated, removing a species from the pool of potential PCs frees the depiction of that species to a huge extent. Moving a sophont species into the NPC or Event category allows the GM to create a more memorable, more otherwordly, more alien species. Once an alien sophont enters the PC category, that species devolves into Bob, the dog guy from Accounting, Bob, the four-armed guy from Accounting, Bob, the starfish guy from accounting, or Bob, the guy with plumbing supplies glued on his face from Accounting.

Question: How was a species able to build automated sleeper ships which can cross a parsec missed?

Think about it for a moment. The sleeper ships landed on Raschev in 1107 after taking about 400 years to cross the single parsec between that system and Alenzar. That means they were launched in the early 700s at the latest. By 700 the region has already seen the arrival of the Itzin Fleet, the Darrian Flowering, the arrival of the Gram Fleet, Zhodani exploration and contact with those two pocket empires, refugees fleeing the advancing Imperium, the arrival of the Imperium, the settlement of both the Marches and Foreven, the First Survey, two Frontier Wars, more refugees from those wars, and any number of traders, explorers, and just plain nosy people.

And yet in all that activity and all that time the Chamax sophonts somehow remained a complete mystery. InStarSpec apparently doesn't have a clue that the earth-like world in the system whose belt they're exploiting was once home to a technological species.

How were the Chamax sophonts seemingly missed? Why wasn't a civilization capable of building the sleeper ships apparently not detected? Why weren't they contacted? Why wern't they missed when the Chamx Plague devoured their world? Why were the Chamax sophonts seemingly forgotten? How could all this have plausibly happened?


Regards,
Bill

Sophonts aside, IIRC the flavor fiction from the book the dominnt sentients were the ones who built the sleeper ships as a means of escape from the Chamax, who then infested a number of them. My recollection is hazy, however.

 

[aramis]

I got the book, but yeah, I had to make my own map for Imperium (my all time favorite) along with pasting a copy of the counter set on cardboard to cut out. Its all still worth the investment.

I dunno if 5FW would drive me insane to do that with or not. And nobody I know wants to play it - too long compared to Imperium, which seems just right for an evening of beer and pretzel gaming when taking time off from Traveller.

We just need to cobble together the Vassal "box" for it, Sabredog...

Vassal Box?

Vassal is a client for playing boardgames by email or online server.

 

[sabredog]

Most excellent! Where do I get it and what do I need to run it? If we could get together a batch of players for 5FW you can count me in!

 

[Whipsnade]

Sophonts aside, IIRC the flavor fiction from the book the dominnt sentients were the ones who built the sleeper ships as a means of escape from the Chamax, who then infested a number of them. My recollection is hazy, however.

BG,

Yes, hence my use of the term "Chamax sophonts" to differentiate them from the "Chamax".

I'm not suggesting the "bugs" built the sleepers ships. We know a technological civilization did that, a civilization whose ruins were being explored by the Shaarin Challenger crew.

I'm asking how such a civilization could go missing without anyone noticing.

It wasn't as if the Marches and Foreven Sectors were empty in 700. People had been moving in and moving through both regions for thousands of years. Worlds were settled, wars fought, minor species contacted, governments rose and fell, and yet no one managed to stumble across the Chamax sophonts in all that time? Only six parsecs from Darrian and no one ever noticed them once?

Doesn't that seem odd to you?

After all, we're not talking about the Shriekers of Denuli. The Shriekers' civilization had developed metal working but also limited to a small region, something that allowed a geological catastrophe to first destroy and then inundate it. The Chamax sophonts on the other hand had a TL9 civilization complete with cities scattered worldwide, seagoing ships, interplanetary travel and capable of constructing automated sleeper ships that can cross a parsec.

How could such a people be missed? How could their disappearance go unnoticed?


Regards,
Bill

 

[rancke]

How could such a people be missed? How could their disappearance go unnoticed?

There was a discussion about this a while back, and I remember we came up with an explanation. Unfortunately the search function does not work for me (i.e. it's either rubbish or I'm messing up ), so I can't track it down.

Basic idea was that it was noticed, recorded, and forgotten about. The details explained how it was that the company didn't find the information when they researched the world 400 years later, but I can't remember the details. Perhaps someone who can actually make the search function perform could track it down?


Hans

 

[sabredog]

Vassal is a client for playing boardgames by email or online server.

I just found Vassal and downloaded it. The Imperium module looks great! And I see there is someone working on 5FW but only has a map so far.

Thanks a million for the tip!

 

[robject]

There was a discussion about this a while back, and I remember we came up with an explanation. Unfortunately the search function does not work for me (i.e. it's either rubbish or I'm messing up ), so I can't track it down.

Basic idea was that it was noticed, recorded, and forgotten about. The details explained how it was that the company didn't find the information when they researched the world 400 years later, but I can't remember the details. Perhaps someone who can actually make the search function perform could track it down?


Hans

And I thought Hans was the one who came up with that explanation . He/we/someone suggested that the Darrians had found them, pre Maghiz, and that paperwork about them is moldering in some university basement.

 

[rancke]

And I thought Hans was the one who came up with that explanation . He/we/someone suggested that the Darrians had found them, pre Maghiz, and that paperwork about them is moldering in some university basement.

I was, but my memory is rather faulty. Rather than coming up with a second version that is just a little bit, or maybe more than a little, different from the first one, I'd prefer that the first one was dug out. I vaguely remember that there was a "the company has a hidden agenda" idea ivolved.


Hans

 

[Blue Ghost]

BG,

Yes, hence my use of the term "Chamax sophonts" to differentiate them from the "Chamax".

I'm not suggesting the "bugs" built the sleepers ships. We know a technological civilization did that, a civilization whose ruins were being explored by the Shaarin Challenger crew.

I'm asking how such a civilization could go missing without anyone noticing.

It wasn't as if the Marches and Foreven Sectors were empty in 700. People had been moving in and moving through both regions for thousands of years. Worlds were settled, wars fought, minor species contacted, governments rose and fell, and yet no one managed to stumble across the Chamax sophonts in all that time? Only six parsecs from Darrian and no one ever noticed them once?

Doesn't that seem odd to you?

After all, we're not talking about the Shriekers of Denuli. The Shriekers' civilization had developed metal working but also limited to a small region, something that allowed a geological catastrophe to first destroy and then inundate it. The Chamax sophonts on the other hand had a TL9 civilization complete with cities scattered worldwide, seagoing ships, interplanetary travel and capable of constructing automated sleeper ships that can cross a parsec.

How could such a people be missed? How could their disappearance go unnoticed?


Regards,
Bill

Ah, I thought you were postulating a proposed tweak; an Alternate TU with sentient Chamax. I misunderstood.

The question though is this; would they even be "chamax-like"? Would the dominant natural selection design lend itself to a "chamax" construct? I'm just putting it out there as a seed for brainstorming

 

[Whipsnade]

The question though is this; would they even be "chamax-like"? Would the dominant natural selection design lend itself to a "chamax" construct?

BG,

DA5 states that the Chamax sophonts and Chamax bugs are "distantly related". Apparently the dominant body form for land species on Chamax is/was "tarantula"-like just as the "head, four legs, & tail" form lucked out on Earth.

There's also the actions of the automated sleeper ships. They failed supposedly to recognize the difference between the bugs and the sophonts.


Regards,
Bill

 

[robject]

It's reasonable to assume, for game purposes, that the bugs and the sophonts on Chamax followed the same basic physical pattern, while still being significantly different... as Bill mentioned.

 

[robject]

I was, but my memory is rather faulty. Rather than coming up with a second version that is just a little bit, or maybe more than a little, different from the first one, I'd prefer that the first one was dug out. I vaguely remember that there was a "the company has a hidden agenda" idea ivolved.

Hans

Here they are, two years old. First, from Hans, then from Daryen.

Actually, I've been looking for a race close to Darrian that the pre-Maghiz Darrians could attempt to uplift, only to make such a pig's breakfast of the attempt (having their upliftees start killing themselves off with sophisticated weapons, or perhaps letting some industrial process run amuck) that they became extremely reluctant to meddle with any other population group they ran into. The Chamax would work fine for that.

I don't think it's possible that no one learned about the existence of the Chamaxi within a century or two after people began jumping around the region after the Long Night. The Scouts were doing long-range surveys half-way down Trojan Reach in the 2nd Century. It's pretty unlikely that they didn't do the same in Foreven. Even if they didn't, the First Survey seems the absolutely latest one can put discovery by the Scouts. Then there are all those adventuresome merchants nosing around for good trade opportunities and colony expeditions heading for Foreven and points spinward.

But that doesn't mean that anyone would remember the Chamaxi in 1105. One day in 700, at four o'clock in the afternoon, some visiting trader or Darrian patrol or Imperial Scout arrives and finds the Chamaxi gone and the world absolutely useless.

Actually, a bit of canon revision -- not really a revision, more like an addition -- would probably help, maybe an interdict imposed by the Scouts and some corporate intrigue that gets the files about Chamax erased and the interdiction lifted, just so that InStarSpec can set up mining in the belt. But the local InStarSpec manager is kept in the dark because his superiors think that what he don't know he can't blab about to the MoJ agents.

I had never really thought about that very hard, yet here are my thoughts on the situation.

Pre-Maghiz, the Darrians would have surveyed the Alenzar system, but we don't have a good handle on what the Chamaxi TL was at that point. If it was pre or early industrial, they might not have even realized the Chamaxi were fully sentient. Even if there was some contact, it would have been intermittent due to other concerns and how thin the Darrians were spreading themselves. Actually, having a contact works well; that would be just one of those little items that was lost in the destruction of the Maghiz. There are probably lots of things the pre-Maghiz Darrians did that the current Darrians never really found out. (And, like the Secret of the Star Trigger, the information is probably there somewhere, they just don't know it is there to look for.)

Post-Maghiz, they probably spent their first couple centuries just consolidating what they had. They likely never really went past the "walls" of the subsector, as evidence by the complete lack of settlements in Querion (past Entrope, anyway), Five Sisters, and Plankwell/268. They didn't even claim the worlds on the rimward edge of Darrian itself, despite having open, inviting worlds at Bularia and Kardin at the least. Quite frankly, I find little evidence the post-Maghiz Darrians did much of anything outside the worlds they were already settled on.

(No, that makes no sense at all. There are at least a half-dozen really nice worlds around the Darrian cluster that are non-aligned in 1100 that they could have easily claimed anytime between -275 and 400 or so. I have to conclude the post-Maghiz Darrians just didn't explore like the pre-Maghiz Darrians once did.)

As for Garoo, I have no idea what BARD says. [...] I see them as an Imperial colony that was always independent by design. [...] I would just make their foundation conveniently around the death of the Chamaxi. (Which works well with Raschev, which was only settled sometime around 900.) [...]

 

[kafka47]

Speaking of variants (ok, it was only me), did anyone play at Flynn's game at GenCon? He was looking to do a Special Op meet the Chamax. Care to share any details...or will we just have to wait for Stellar Reaches...

As the consumate alien "alien", I wonder if we could make an entire ecology of similarly deadly things for the Chamax homeworld. (And, yes, I am a fan of Harry Harrison's Deathworld) It would be W-Y send a party into the Foreven sector to scout out the homeworld and then once there bring back a selection of the native Species found there ALIVE!

 

[Whipsnade]

As the consumate alien "alien", I wonder if we could make an entire ecology of similarly deadly things for the Chamax homeworld.

Kafak,

If not the entire homeworld, at least the "small continent" where the Chamax bugs originated.

Remember how the "plague" was unleashed? The Chamax sophonts were colonizing the continent and decided to eradicate a burrowing carnivore species whose members becoming quite a nuisance. It turned out that the eradicated carnivore species was the environmental check that kept the Chamax bugs in balance.

Imagine what kind of an animal can shrug off acid attacks from aroused Chamax hunters as it digs up and devours the Chamax maternal...

Maybe Jon Blazer will take a whack at it for his next Creatures of Distant Worlds subscription?


Regards,
Bill

 

[robject]

Kafak,

If not the entire homeworld, at least the "small continent" where the Chamax bugs originated.

Remember how the "plague" was unleashed? The Chamax sophonts were colonizing the continent and decided to eradicate a burrowing carnivore species whose members becoming quite a nuisance. It turned out that the eradicated carnivore species was the environmental check that kept the Chamax bugs in balance.

Imagine what kind of an animal can shrug off acid attacks from aroused Chamax hunters as it digs up and devours the Chamax maternal...

Maybe Jon Blazer will take a whack at it for his next Creatures of Distant Worlds subscription?


Regards,
Bill

Or, taking a page from Hans, the Darrians were experimenting with the bugs, and accidentally mutated them into an unstoppable force...