Looking for a setting

[Spence]

I have been wanting to run a scifi game for a while, but simply haven’t settled on a system/setting. I read a lot of older scifi and frankly find those setting much more intriguing than most of the newer stuff. I'm speaking about the setting where mankind has begun expanding into the stars but hasn’t encountered intelligent life yet. The tech is advanced to us, but definitely not the super advanced magic tech of the standard Trek or Star Wars influenced game.

Traveller is the system that seems to really have what I like. Since I just don’t have time to build from scratch I am looking for a campaign setting. 99% of the settings out there are so developed you can’t use them with everything already having been decided and having huge history's. This makes it impossible to use them because of the constant references to material (alien races) you don't want.

I was really really interested in the 2300 setting until the preview showed all the alien races. If past product is any indication it will be impossible to read a section without multiple references to those aliens.

Does anyone know of a Traveller (licensed) setting that is about human exploration/expansion that is pre-alien contact? A setting where there is still a bit of mystery and the players actually get to be the ones exploring the unknown and possibly making that first contact?

 

[rust]

My recommendation would be Spica Publishing's
"Outer Veil" setting:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=96124&filters=0_0_0_0_40050&manufacturers_id=2474

 

[GamerDude]

Does anyone know of a Traveller (licensed) setting that is about human exploration/expansion that is pre-alien contact? A setting where there is still a bit of mystery and the players actually get to be the ones exploring the unknown and possibly making that first contact?

Twilight Sector/terra sol *might* meet your expectations, but honestly their own info says one planet will be the super center of what happens, and like 2 or 3 sectors with just a handful of systems to play in is the max they are fleshing out (but the core book sets up a huge universe without much fleshing out - plenty of room for you to pick one and go nuts with it, not much worry they will publish something and mess up what you've done.)


Personally I have been developing one (coming along nicely) that is 100% no-alien (or pre-alien as you put it), but I'm not able to start my own company at this time (and most publishers are pretty full up with their own in-house projects). More "Cowboys, Six-shooters, Politics, and CattleSmuggling" of a sorts.

 

[kadunkadunk]

http://www.terrasolgames.com
We have over 20 products, all that build a setting with mystery and no aliens. We cover 800 light years in diameter with a dozen stellar nations. We 'hint` at aliens and have precursor artifacts, but no first contact.

We have several free products. Take a look at Setting Update Alpha. It is on Drive Thru.
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15280.phtml

Thx for the nod 'dude.

-Kadunkadunk

 

[Mithras]

I second the Outer Veil setting. I have it and like it

 

[Spence]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have ordered some of the Twilight Sector books to mine for info. The Outer Veil looks interesting but is not available as a book. I play at a FLGS and stick to product they can sell out of courtesy. They provide space and organization, we buy our gaming product through them.

I did pick up some of the PDF's via RPGnow to get a look. Both lines look very well done by the way. But TS appears to trade Aliens for Mutants which defeats my purpose of wanting a straight human-centric deep space exploration game.

Not to worry :wink: I now have several more books that will be joining my collection in hardcopy and PDF. But I am still looking for that golden BB. :mrgreen:

 

[crossmlk]

Spence, thanks for taking a look at Twilight Sector. I'd like to give you a little background on our design decisions relating to Mutants. We wanted to accomplish several things with Mutants. We wanted to have a wholly human centeric campaign where aliens were yet to be discovered. We wanted to include Transhumanist elements in the campaign.

The reason for the human centric is as you point out to leave the option of first contact to the player characters in any specific campaign. The reason for mutants was to create the opportunity to explore Transhumanist SF stories. In our thinking mutants don't represent aliens in the setting from a story telling perspective (if anything does I would say it is uplifts but even then they have a history with humanity). They (mutants) are themselves so very human and create much of the conflict within human society.

Now from a game play standpoint I agree with you that mutants represent aliens, albeit ones that players are far better suited to playing (because they are human derviatives) than aliens. Players like them some options when it comes to creating player characters. And mutants are an attempt to scratch that itch of many players without throwing out the human centric theme of the campaign.

I hope that helps to explain a little our design decisions.

 

[jaz0nj4ckal]

If you want more of a hard-science fiction feeling to your setting or campaign – you could convert sections of Transhuman (GURPS) from SJG. Since Traveller has a GURPS edition, it should be pretty easy to convert. However, you could always throw in the “uplifted” animal, mutant or genetically enhanced human just to break up the boring task of always fitting humans and robots.

The Fallout series might be a viable solution for research material or ideas. Specifically episodes: 1 and 2.

 

[GamerDude]

– you could convert sections of Transhuman (GURPS) from SJG. Since Traveller has a GURPS edition, it should be pretty easy to convert.

Ok... "transhuman" part aside (no one has ever intelligently been able to communicate to me what the "next step" in humanity is, let alone how the "trans"parts fits in here)...

What GURPS had was not "Traveller" en total. using MGT as a good way to explain - meaning "Traveller" is now all the crunch mechanics and "Third Imperium or 3I" is the original setting for the first four editions of the Traveller Rules (Traveller/Classic Traveller, MegaTraveller, Traveller New Era, Traveller 4/Marc Miller's Traveller).

So, what SJG/GURPS had was - a ATU version of the Third Imperium done under the GURPS rules.

Nothing in GURPS: Traveller (again, really GURPS: Third Imperium) will help you bring Transhuman Space (or anything else published for GURPS) into the MGTraveller Mechanics/System.

 

[Rusty_Unycorn]

You can always make your own setting... That's what people did before GDW came out with the 3I and AD&D came out with the Forgotten Realms, BlackMoor, Ravenloft... You get my point. Published settings, while wonderful (IMHO, especially for idea mining...), are, in some ways, a crutch. You can transfer between game grouos that use that setting with not a lot of problems. But, the original has been the DIY homebrew setting. Go for it.

 

[kafka]

Hard SF = Outer Veil
Medium = 2300AD - you can play it without the Aliens
Space Opera = Twilight Terra Sol
Hard Space Opera = Third Imperium

But why not make up you own?

 

[Gypsy Knights Games]

Does anyone know of a Traveller (licensed) setting that is about human exploration/expansion that is pre-alien contact? A setting where there is still a bit of mystery and the players actually get to be the ones exploring the unknown and possibly making that first contact?

At the risk of being self-promotional, I'd ask that you take a look at Cascadia and Franklin. These are two fully detailed subsectors with only oblique references to the possibility of aliens.

Both books are designed to be used as background material matching almost any way you decide to play Traveller. Unfortunately, your only print option (currently) is to buy the books POD from Drive-Thru so it might not meet your "buy only from the FLGS" requirement.

I hope you'll consider the books. I think they'd fit in exactly with what you're doing. Either way, good luck with your campaign.

 

[Flynn]

I would also humbly offer up the Azri Drakara setting for your consideration. You can easily start with just one book in the series, Flynn's Guide to Azri Drakara: Rodan Subsector. (You can find a review here.)

If you want a better overview of the entire sector and the direction I intend to take it, then you may also want to check out Flynn's Guide to Azri Drakara: A Primer. (You can find a review here.)

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[Spence]

Everyone,

Thank you for all the replies and information. I have actually been out sick and am in the process of trying to catch up. I'm concentrating on work first than the rest so I hope you'll bear with me.

Spence