Dungeon Crawling in Traveller

I do a lot of solo stuff, so I took the dungeon generator from D&D5E and changed the tables over to fit Traveller. For instance, I have a 3D table that is for the structure location (Desert, Swamp, Orbit, etc.) Then some fluff tables like age, material, and purpose (vault, temple, crashed derelict, etc. ) Then I reduced and altered the Room Type table to a 16, weighted for most common rooms (generic, storage, barracks, vault, etc.) I even added a table for traps and effects in line with more sci-fi stuff, such as an electrified floor, or a vent releasing corrosive gas. I coupled that with a mechanic I found somewhere that has you roll a check as you go to determine if you've found the room/ object/ person you were looking for, with the modifier going up as you go through rooms. Encounters are even possible, with "guard" being a stand-in for whatever you might expect. If it's a sophont facility, an NPC. If it's a cave or crashed derelict, a creature.

It works well enough for my purposes, but it took several hours and still needs refinement. I haven't used it on a labyrinthian type crawler.
 
If you are aiming for a Traveller dungeon crawl, then it should be done in classic science fiction style by using a Big Dumb Object. Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke, the Ringworld series by Larry Niven, or the more contemporary The Expanse stories by James SA Corey (where the ring gate systems can be considered a dungeon crawl on a vast scale). For a terrifying cyberpunk take on it, use the setting for the manga/anime BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei.
 
Any ship is a tight claustrophobic dungeon to the poor schmuck PFC that has to help clear the SOB

At least starships have bathrooms. And a deckplan is at least designed with function in mind instead of being a maze of twisty passages for no good reason.
 
If you are aiming for a Traveller dungeon crawl, then it should be done in classic science fiction style by using a Big Dumb Object. Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke, the Ringworld series by Larry Niven, or the more contemporary The Expanse stories by James SA Corey (where the ring gate systems can be considered a dungeon crawl on a vast scale). For a terrifying cyberpunk take on it, use the setting for the manga/anime BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei.
The Ark ship from Starlost. 1974? TV show. 1 season. Had a couple of episodes with Walter Koenig as the guest villain.
 
It didn't look as bad on a small (by modern standards CRT that was also black and white. Most of its problems come from a budget substantially smaller than Star Trek had years before, inadequate studios and recording on tape not film. Their special effects company not being able to live up to their boasts and apparently Keir Dullea taking a lot of the budget for his wages hurt as well. Finally of course the people making the decisions not being sci fi fans at all also hurts.

For the whole series: https://www.youtube.com/@starlosttv7597/videos

I wonder how people would respond to an AI updated special effects version?
 
It suffers from being from the Seventies, and with early Seventies sensibilities.

In a way, Passengers had the same plot, though more entertainingly presented.
 
Personally when I judge something I do based on the time and place of its origin not by here and now. It lets me enjoy many things that would not be enjoyable otherwise.
 
Yes, it is. However, you should read the pilot episode story "Phoenix Without Ashes" and the essay "Somehow, I Don't Think We're In Kansas, Toto" both by Harlan Ellison to find out why that was. The essay is a very good cautionary tale of what can happen when your creative project gets controlled by idiots.
And for dessert, Ben Bova's The Starcrossed, about the production of a completely fictional, I swear SF show gone horribly wrong.
 
Why take the word of a critic when you can watch it for yourself.

I'm watching Starlost right now. It's more interesting than a lot of contemporary media. It's super low budget and completely 70's, but that's the only thing wrong with it. It's about space Amish who don't know they're in space.

Edit: Garth got through the security check with a crossbow, worst security check ever!
 
Last edited:
There was a real effort to get science fiction back into the public mindset after '2001 A Space Odyssey'. I mean it was great science fiction, but about as entertaining as watching paint dry.
The came Star Wars and everything changed.
But in between there were some really good efforts that didn't get a lot of shine because the viewing public wasn't interested in watching monkeys beat up bones. 'Silent Running' was an **excellent** sci-fi movie with great human elements that kept the viewer focused. Of course, the ending was a downer, but...
There is still a lot of discussion about how to generate good science fiction while keeping the viewer entertained. I've always said that 'Star Wars' isn't actual science fiction...it's space opera. There isn't a lick of science behind it. You just substituted blasters and lightsabers for Colt 6-shooters and katanas.
'Star Trek' IS science fiction in that 'sciences' that allow the Federation to exist are consistent throughout. But more importantly Star Trek asks the questions that science fiction is supposed to ask. Things like 'what is the value of humanity if we lose our humanity because of [x] technology', or 'do we have the right to interfere with another sapient civilization even if we are absolutely sure we are in the moral right'.
 
It suffers from being from the Seventies, and with early Seventies sensibilities.

In a way, Passengers had the same plot, though more entertainingly presented.

There was a real effort to get science fiction back into the public mindset after '2001 A Space Odyssey'. I mean it was great science fiction, but about as entertaining as watching paint dry.
The came Star Wars and everything changed.
But in between there were some really good efforts that didn't get a lot of shine because the viewing public wasn't interested in watching monkeys beat up bones. 'Silent Running' was an **excellent** sci-fi movie with great human elements that kept the viewer focused. Of course, the ending was a downer, but...
There is still a lot of discussion about how to generate good science fiction while keeping the viewer entertained. I've always said that 'Star Wars' isn't actual science fiction...it's space opera. There isn't a lick of science behind it. You just substituted blasters and lightsabers for Colt 6-shooters and katanas.
'Star Trek' IS science fiction in that 'sciences' that allow the Federation to exist are consistent throughout. But more importantly Star Trek asks the questions that science fiction is supposed to ask. Things like 'what is the value of humanity if we lose our humanity because of [x] technology', or 'do we have the right to interfere with another sapient civilization even if we are absolutely sure we are in the moral right'.
The Expanse is a really good effort at engaging and entertaining science fiction.
 
Back
Top