Licencing Transhuman Space

[TrippyHippy]

Well, why not? Steve Jackson has always seemingly been a fan of Traveller, and they've adapted their own version of the Traveller setting. Why not try and return the favour, with Transhuman Space?

The background is intriguing, and a good contrast to the space opera of the Third Imperium. It would also be quite spectacular to see a lifepath generated on Transhuman concepts, like infomorphs and genetic enhancement. The more radical designs could simply be treated like alien packages.

There was an online adaptation of THS to the Tri-Stat system, online, somewhere before, but I never really grokked the GURPS rules for this particular setting, myself. The seemed too convoluted. Would it be worth checking, to see if it could be adapted to Traveller? It's not as if it wouldn't be interesting.

 

[EDG]

But... there's GURPS Traveller already. If people want to adapt TS to Traveller they can do it a hell of a lot more easily that way since they use the same rules already.

I'd certainly love to see a lot of the concepts from Transhuman Space introduced into the Traveller ruleset (AI, uploading, cybershells, bioroids, nanotech, more realistic space technologies, clades, etc) but I don't think the whole setting needs to be translated over.

And it works in Tri-stat because it has a similar design system to GURPS - based on advantages/disadvantages (or perks/flaws or whatever). A HERO version would work for a similar reason. But Mongoose Traveller doesn't have anything like that at its core, so it'll be a lot harder to convert all the things that add to and change peoples stats and abilities in a consistent way.

 

[TrippyHippy]

You don't need an advantages/disadvatages system to include all those elements. Just record what you've got. Traveller does this already - with cybernetic enhancements and the like. You don't need to have it all balanced with arbitrary 'points'.

Indeed, you can simply 'balance' it out, realistically, by the Credit rating of the characters. You can only afford what you can afford, and the gap between rich and poor would be perfectly exemplified by the degree of artificial self-enhancement.

 

[zanwot]

mmmm.... talk about what Mongoose Traveller should have been like... My dream...

Unfortunately, there is just too much, the whole Traveller character generation is locked into old fashioned SF. You could adapt, in fact I believe THS tech would probably come out better than in GURPS (but I am biaised), but it would be so much work.

But gosh... THS tech in Traveller rules & 3I setting. *droools*

(I know you mean full THS setting in Traveller rules, but to each his own fantasies)

 

[GamerDude]

I wouldn't mind seeing THS brought over to the Traveller rules. Sure some mechanics would have to be redone and stuff, but that's fine with me if it makes sense for the setting (especially since the Traveller mechanics are supposed to be independent from the OTU material)

 

[zanwot]

(especially since the Traveller mechanics are supposed to be independent from the OTU material)

That is where I believe it fails. Big time.

 

[GamerDude]

(especially since the Traveller mechanics are supposed to be independent from the OTU material)

That is where I believe it fails. Big time.

I hear you. That's why, as I have stated in many other places, why I consider it important have it clear what is considered OTU and what isn't, and what neat new items/mechanic doesn't fit etc.

All I ask for is clarity of purpose and in presentation.

 

[zanwot]

Well actually I mean it both ways: OTU things should maybe be clarified, but I essentially believe the rules (& character generation, etc) are so very much anchored in Traveller (as in 3rd Imperium) that it makes too much work to adapt properly to another setting (as in: I am pretty sure the forthcoming official settings will only really change the sociopolitical content and the major gizmo names such as jump drives, not the true tech environment content).
But I hope to be proven wrong.

 

[qstor]

Biotechnology isn't really a huge part of Traveller canon. So I'd imagine a whole new MGT biotechology book might have to be done or it could be part of a Transhuman Mongoose book.

Mike

 

[Mark A. Siefert]

Here's another vote for transhumanist memes in the Traveller rules for those who want to use them.

FYI, David Pulver, the author of Transhuman Space, also wrote Centauri Knights for BESM. While the artwork has a definite "anime" look, the setting itself is quite good and has a believable "hard" sci-fi setting with STL particle-beam driven sleeper ships, Sentient AIs, cloned and cyborg bodies, alien nanotechnology, powered armor, etc.

 

[SnowDog]

Having THS style tech introduced to MongTrav rules would be a very good idea. I wouldn't go as far as implementing many of them to OTU but the tech and toys would be a tremendous boost to the general scifi rules set aspect of the game.

While I hugely appreciate the work done to THS (and was sad to see the line discontinued) there is this thing that bugs me with it's implementation. As it was already mentioned cybernetics, biotech, templates etc. use the extensive and expanded list of advantages/disadvantages to give game mechanical representations of them. While this is all fine and good in certain cases sometimes I would go as far as call it broken.

Let's say you get cyberoptics that grant you night vision. You have to pay for it the same price in character points as if you took just the advantage. In addition to that you have to pay money to get it installed, IIRC (if you take it later in the game). :shock:

So, fortunately MongTrav doesn't have that kind of system and hence if we get to see some kind of 'ware book it will work a bit more like in Cyberpunk 2020 (game mechanics wise).

 

[TrippyHippy]

I always thought the abstract 'character points' element of TS were artificial anyway. Just pay for the stuff in credits.

 

[SnowDog]

I sort of understand the game balance aspect of character points and hence why they are included in cybernetics etc. Still, I agree that you should just pay the price in money (and keep track of the overall character point total, if you think it is necessary).