Un Sub or Supernatural Forces

[Mythmere]

I'm considering adding "Powers" rather like those in Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep novels, or the old ones in HP Lovecraft to my Traveller setting. I think it will give the players a better sense of purpose. Has anyone else used "supernatural" powers in a Traveller setting? How did it go? Did it make things too D&D, or did it have its own flavor? Help much appreciated.

Ran Targas, didn't you say you had an old ones analogue?

 

[Falkayn]

Mythmere,

Nice idea, I had thought of this myself, but for it to mean anything you need to weave them into everything the way the Ancients are in Traveller.

As well as Vernor's writings there is a great series by Sean Williams and Shane Dix that is worth looking into: The Prodigal Sun (Evergence, Book One)

They have a similar idea of High Humans in place of Powers, mixed with a typical Honor Harrington-esque heroine, and a Blake's 7 group of misfits. The universe is interesting in that there are no alien species, but lots of what they call Human Castes, meaning offshoots of humanity that breed true and have wildly different abilities (including one with an epsense organ hanging down from the back of their skulls).

 

[Granpafishy]

Will they be an enhanced form of psionics or are they going to be something completely new?

Granpafishy

 

[Mythmere]

Will they be an enhanced form of psionics or are they going to be something completely new?

Granpafishy

I'm going to introduce some Dune-like abilities for players, but those won't be supernatural. I have a Prana-Bindu Illuminatus class, a Cognate Class (similar to a mentat), and a ninja class. The classes stemmed from a discussion with one of my players that the T20 classes are all very similar to each other in everything but the background ascribed to them. I took it as my goal to remedy that with some character classes that were viable in combat but used methods and skills utterly different from the existing T20 classes. I think I succeeded in that, and I'm not worried about their affect on the game - they will make the game more stylized and gothic, but still very much sci-fi.

It's this other idea that gives me pause. The powers could basically possess humans, and create technical wizardry (though it would degrade over time). In game terms, I think there would be little impact; I fear what the introduction of non hard science would do to the game's setting.

 

[Ran Targas]

Myth, I do indeed have elder races IMTU, several with almost supernatural powers. They don't tend to get out much, so the details are still pretty hazy. I can tell you that technology is still the basis for their power; it's just technology that we can't understand without multi-multi dimensional physics and knowledge of the secrets of alternate universes.

MTU Timeline:

Really Really Long Ago - Gen I races rise to sentience and begin exploring galaxy

Really Long Ago - Gen I races reduced to a rough dozen thru wars of attrition, Gen II races identified and come under influence of remaining Gen I factions

Long Ago - Gen I races dwindle to less than 5; Gen II races rage war under control of remaining Gen I races; Gen III races identified and genetic manipulation begins to accelerate ascendancy, some are uplifted to develop alternate strains

Not So Long Ago - Gen II races, using Gen I tech, destroy millions of worlds in "The Final War"; factions decimated and scattered; Gen III races left without external influence (with exception of major religion and genetic coding)

Now - Gen III races spreading throughout galaxy, remaining Gen II races awakening to presence of potential allies (i.e. shock troops) and beginning to regroup; location/condition of Gen I masters lost to Gen II races

There are already humans under the influence of Gen II masters, resulting in mysterious strangers with bizarre technology and nearly supernatural powers.

 

[PapaGolfWhiskey]

Shades of Babylon 5.

 

[Mythmere]

Thanks, Ran. I was pretty sure I remembered that you had elder races. It sounds like yours is a mix of Cthulhu and Startide Rising. Cool.

Mine also are going to be based on unexplainable technology, and I'm even going to say that it's multidimensional and information based. Information to one of their allies (or possessed people) allows the creation of self-extracting programs that build nanotechnology. But the information system that keeps the nanites organized degrades over time, so all these godly gifts are temporary (ala Vernor Vinge).

 

[Ran Targas]

Originally posted by Garf:
Shades of Babylon 5.

You better believe it, you think I'm going to let pure gold like that go un-mined!!!

Myth, there was a book I read a long time ago (so much I forgot the title/author) that dealt with species ascending and a planet full of sentient wolf-like creatures with "pack-minds". If I remember the premise correctly, ascending species that are still able to cling to this reality form the manufacturing base of the galactic economy, manipulating matter to make whatever products are necessary. But their careers are short lived as they soon lose interest in this universe and ascend. One such ascendant species develops a sentient computer virus, which breaks loose as a matter of course, and only the two kids on the wolf planet know the secret to defeating it. Again, very hazy on the details after 5-7 years. Do you know the book? Any similarity with your ideas?

 

[Falkayn]

Originally posted by Ran Targas:
Myth, there was a book I read a long time ago (so much I forgot the title/author) that dealt with species ascending and a planet full of sentient wolf-like creatures with "pack-minds". If I remember the premise correctly, ascending species that are still able to cling to this reality form the manufacturing base of the galactic economy, manipulating matter to make whatever products are necessary. But their careers are short lived as they soon lose interest in this universe and ascend. One such ascendant species develops a sentient computer virus, which breaks loose as a matter of course, and only the two kids on the wolf planet know the secret to defeating it. Again, very hazy on the details after 5-7 years. Do you know the book? Any similarity with your ideas?

IIRC that was a Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

 

[Ran Targas]

^ Thanks Angus, you're absolutely correct!

I guess that answers that question since Myth has obviously read V.V.

 

[Mythmere]

One of the best SF authors of all time. Heinlein, Herbert, Asimov, Vance, Vernor Vinge.

 

[bolie]

Don't worry too much about lack of hard science as Traveller already neglects a fair amount of science. Most of it is for convenience (heat rules, reactionless drives, etc...) but some is for flavor (psionics).

Besides, I want to play a ninja with supernatural abilities...

Part of the problem is, I suspect, that Traveller and any non-magic setting is basically going to be d20 with rogues and fighters and nothing else. Without magic, skills and feats are all that give characters flavor and they overlap.

Bolie IV

 

[Mythmere]

Hey, Boles. It's shaping up to be not so much supernatural as superhuman, like Dune characters. The ninja are pretty straightforward, but deadlier than a ninja could be in this century. Then there are the Prana-Bindu Illuminati, using Indian and Asian body/mind training to achieve various effects (think, sort of, Bene Gesserit). There are the Cognizers (like mentats, trained super-intellects that can even affect combat), and the Empowered. The empowered are ridden by a biological AI, and can call on the super-intellect of a patron power for various effects. The Empowered are the only ones that rely on non-science for their powers.

 

[Falkayn]

Mythmere,

Check out Ken Hood's Sleeping Imperium martial arts and psionics rules on my T20 Downloads page. If you like that his Sleeping Imperium setting is worth checking out.

 

[Ran Targas]

Myth,

1. What about the Bene Tleilax (Face Dancers)? The thought of shape-shifting assassins scares the crap out of me! I've always thought they were totally under utilized as antagonists (even in the prequels).

2. Do your ninja equate to the Swordmasters of Ginaz?

3. Someone should do a DUNE mod for d20!

 

[Mythmere]

I didn't do anything specifically on the Tleilaxu because I couldn't remember the scientific justification for the shapeshifting. My Empowered can achieve a +5 on disguise checks with one of their feats (the bio-AI modifies his skin pigmentation and muscle tone), but that's as close as I got.

 

[Mythmere]

2. Do your ninja equate to the Swordmasters of Ginaz?

Nope. The ninja are just martial artists. This whole thing began because one of my players pointed out the vast similarity between the T20 classes. I'm not so much doing Dune as looking for sci-fi archetypes that use different approaches than firing a gun. And they have to be a viable alternative to the marine or rogue in game terms. The academic, to my mind, fails utterly as a character class because his only game contributions are based on one or two knowledge die rolls. My cognizant, on the other hand, can, when in battletrance, add +1 to his party's AC by directing tactical movement and timing. This in addition to decent combat rolls. Now that's a usable intellectual!

 

[Ran Targas]

Myth,

As far as I can gleen from the Dune novels, the Tleilaxu Face Dancers are genetically enhanced and Prana-Bindu (or the equivalent) trained to allow extreme muscle control. They also have certain Mentat abilities used to memorize personality and mannerisms of the replicated. But Face Dancers are not the only abominations rising from Tleilaxu Axlotl tanks.

If the Swordmasters seem to intellectual from the outset, I would approach it like an samurai type with super battle sense; a martial artist able to recognize, analyze, and counter enemy tactics with extreme prejudice and impeccable timing. Made difficult to survive character generation, but unless faced with overwhelming odds, would be a one man wrecking crew in hand-to-hand. Now against blasters or slug throwers, that's another story.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Does Psychological/Environmental Conditioning, like the Sardaukar Warriors come in play with this? I would think that Humaniti would have adapted to a bazillion strange incarnations and environments by the Far Future. What about Chemical Alterations, like a Guild Navigator would have undergone? What about some sort of symbiosis like Leto II underwent (perhaps not to the degree that it did!) in God Emperor of Dune?

Man, I miss ya Frank.

 

[Mythmere]

Baron,
About Sardaukar: I decided at the outset that the game already has "fighter" classes in the marine, army and mercenary. I was trying to vary the classes as much as possible, with classes that can participate in a combat but by truly different means (or at least have an alternate ability like combat healing or affecting the enemy dice rolls, friendly dice rolls, etc). Building a better marine (ie Sardaukar) upsets game balance, too.
So the problem is a creative one (which both you and I are admittedly good at) - what could a planet or environment breed that is a variant mode of combat? Sonic Amphibians? Incredibly fast but weak (that's sort of how I did the Ninja)? Suggestions?