MasterGwydion
Guest
Shame that Mongoose doesn't pay that much attention when publishing ship designs. Only difference is Mongoose could do that in 5 minutes with @Arkathan 's spreadsheet.
The Pioneer RPG Kickstarter is now Live!
- Thread starter MongooseMatt
- Start date
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
(Keeping this on Pioneer)
Its interesting to me that the sample scenario doesn't include ship stats, just some pretty pictures.
shirgall
Cosmic Mongoose
I would suspect gathering together systems and stats and managing their operation, damage, and a repair is a big part of the upcoming core rules.
I wonder if modelling entirely custom designs will be in a supplement called "High Frontier" instead of "High Guard".
Just looking at the next Stretch Goal - "A mysterious extra-solar asteroid is detected between the Earth and Mars. The Pioneers are sent to intercept it and investigate."
There will have to be a "future 'not slow as hell' drive' in game for this to work with PCs, and 'not' just a probe pre stationed at Jupiter of Saturn for any potential 4I+ extra solar asteroid
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
Yeah they mention chemical, nuclear and electrical propulsion.
I reckon either way there will be a little handwavium
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
OK, the latest KS update is out where it talks chemical rockets and nuclear propulsion and then mentions these others which are for the time being fictional and then the update ends. I feel like they did me dirty - showing me the shiny shiny things and then making me wait.... like a savage.
Absolutely, Kerbaling, nah (Mongooseing) a space only ship at EML1/EML2 would do a fly past, having the Delta V for return is the issue. Even refuelling from a separate tug sent out with you leaves you with the same Delta V to scrub as you had before refuelling. You could kill a lot of it, but likely not enough. Low Berths for everyone, let’s see where we end up!
It does also matter just what the orbit is though.... 'Oumuamua was zipping by at 87kps at perihelion, while the recent comet was only clocking 68kps. If the fictional body in the scenario is a relatively slow moving object (maybe even one that is going to be captured by the sun?) it might be an easier mission.
One question about the Pioneer Kickstarter, will there be shipping costs later on, or is shipping (worldwide?) included?
I've read the KS page a couple time, including searching for "shipping", but I didn't spot this info (might have overlooked it, or it might be I just need more coffee...
... 
).
I've read the KS page a couple time, including searching for "shipping", but I didn't spot this info (might have overlooked it, or it might be I just need more coffee...
... ).
Free shipping worldwide!
I’m guessing it’s strictly a 3I/Atlas type of mission, but a “Rendezvous With Rama” scenario could be cool. I’m sure it’s too sci-fi for what this game is going for though.
DeepSpaceAdventures
Banded Mongoose
The official line will probably be very realistic. But hey, it's your game! You can turn this into Rama any time you want. And hell knows what's dwelling under Europas ice shield.
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
In Pioneering Space Adventures it was a struggle to keep it grounded, but in the last one I have an Alien artefact blinking in and out. In my minds eye it’s a Vilani Scout.
Back in uni, I ran a 2300AD alternate scenario where the Stutterwarp was being phased out in favour of a Color-powered drive. And I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey last weekend so I’m wondering if I can get away with sending my Pioneers (if they want to keep playing after the Preview adventure tomorrow) off to find a magnetic anomaly on the far side of the moon.
DC would be an edgy addition to the setting. I’d really welcome it to a more unified system,.
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
So we ran the pilot adventure.
None of them had played Traveller before in any shape or form.
LOVED
The players loved the drama and how unforgiving the system was. They asked if there was a “Push” (they’re used to playing YZE) and were surprised there was nothing. You fail a roll and you’re in the shit.
We did a post-mortem on what could have gone wrong and they enjoyed the possible deaths due to spinning off into space or burning up on re-entry without the presence of plot points to save the day.
AMBIVALENT
The Players felt their PCs were utterly unqualified for going on a mission like this.
As it turned out the Media guy and the Pilot were the real superstars. The Engineer and Technician bungled their fixing rolls quite badly but aced their spacewalk rolls.
There was a bit of drama at the start when heading into space but they quickly realised once they got oxygen to the FlyUp! the drama almost vanished. The dwindling supply was a major motivator.
UNLOVED
They really missed having a proper schematic for the ship. I had cadged together some more detailed manoeuvre rules. That gave them another thing to measure.
They think the amount of time it takes to exit an airlock is too long. I think they may be used to more pulpy games.
COMMENT
Docking should be completely removed as an option in the adventure and it should only be spacewalk by cable. Make the door broken or something.
I prepped each passenger NPC with a voice and a heap of vocal tics. That helped them distinguish between them. I also supplied photos of each passenger and a photo for each Pre-Gen.
We played up 3 of the rumours and added one more (the Slugworth option).
It wasn’t clear if the dog had its own space suit or pressurised pet carrier. I decided it didn’t which meant they were panicking on how to get the dog across on a spacewalk. I had replaced the boomer media with a Make A Wish cancer survivor and they had her as the #1 person to rescue. But to get the dog across they wanted her to remove her leg prosthesis and stuff the dog down the leg of her suit.
CONCLUSION
It got them asking about playing again - and maybe playing Traveller proper. A couple say they’re going to buy the main Core Rules. They’re a little incredulous that this is “that game” where you could “die” in character generation which proves that’s an enduring meme. I don’t know if it’s usable for the marketing effort.
We just finished our end of season of Star Trek Adventures and I’ve no wish to kick it off again. We will have a conversation about Traveller on our Discord.
I think PIONEER has some real legs for this group. I’ll be pitching them on what flavour of Traveller to go ahead with.
None of them had played Traveller before in any shape or form.
LOVED
The players loved the drama and how unforgiving the system was. They asked if there was a “Push” (they’re used to playing YZE) and were surprised there was nothing. You fail a roll and you’re in the shit.
We did a post-mortem on what could have gone wrong and they enjoyed the possible deaths due to spinning off into space or burning up on re-entry without the presence of plot points to save the day.
AMBIVALENT
The Players felt their PCs were utterly unqualified for going on a mission like this.
As it turned out the Media guy and the Pilot were the real superstars. The Engineer and Technician bungled their fixing rolls quite badly but aced their spacewalk rolls.
There was a bit of drama at the start when heading into space but they quickly realised once they got oxygen to the FlyUp! the drama almost vanished. The dwindling supply was a major motivator.
UNLOVED
They really missed having a proper schematic for the ship. I had cadged together some more detailed manoeuvre rules. That gave them another thing to measure.
They think the amount of time it takes to exit an airlock is too long. I think they may be used to more pulpy games.
COMMENT
Docking should be completely removed as an option in the adventure and it should only be spacewalk by cable. Make the door broken or something.
I prepped each passenger NPC with a voice and a heap of vocal tics. That helped them distinguish between them. I also supplied photos of each passenger and a photo for each Pre-Gen.
We played up 3 of the rumours and added one more (the Slugworth option).
It wasn’t clear if the dog had its own space suit or pressurised pet carrier. I decided it didn’t which meant they were panicking on how to get the dog across on a spacewalk. I had replaced the boomer media with a Make A Wish cancer survivor and they had her as the #1 person to rescue. But to get the dog across they wanted her to remove her leg prosthesis and stuff the dog down the leg of her suit.
CONCLUSION
It got them asking about playing again - and maybe playing Traveller proper. A couple say they’re going to buy the main Core Rules. They’re a little incredulous that this is “that game” where you could “die” in character generation which proves that’s an enduring meme. I don’t know if it’s usable for the marketing effort.
We just finished our end of season of Star Trek Adventures and I’ve no wish to kick it off again. We will have a conversation about Traveller on our Discord.
I think PIONEER has some real legs for this group. I’ll be pitching them on what flavour of Traveller to go ahead with.
Considering the more detailed nature of this compared to "i step in front of our MU as a shield and shoot my bow, to protect him".
I have been wondering if it might be worthwhile to provide some briefs on the more technical aspects of the game - solutions related to the characters skills.
"Karen's your pilot: appears to have specialized in Orbital Mechanics moreso than piloting - especially things like rapid 1 orbit rendezvous - a procedure developed by the former Russian space agency".
"Steve - your charachter has the higest skills set for EVA's - your mentor was retired astronaut who owed your Mom or Dad her life. She taught you every possible efficiency, not potentially dangerous shortcuts. Anticipating a long EVA ahead for your team - you suggest that after a nominal orbit insertion, the ship be prepared for the EVA with everyone pre breathing and ready for numerous cycles of the A/L. "You also anticipate the people being rescued have few skills beyond putting on their Pressure suits in controlled situations like the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. You pack duct tape, and then more duct tape in vibrant colours - to label your team and each of the rescues for rapid ident if when one of them floats away."
Love the puppy solution. My initial thoughts went back the shuttle era personal rescue enclosure (PRE) - perfect for the "Zero G vacation industry" (TM).
Thanks for sharing
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
I think it was more a lack of familiarity with the system. The Engineer was scoffing that they only had Mechanic-0. With a lot of important skills unmet (Zero-G, Space Suit), you’d have to wonder why anyone would choose these saps for the mission. That was their observation.
We had a slightly bigger issue with the player for Robin (who’s really quite OP) choosing to do very little.
The PCs did ask about a pressurised pet carrier but I told them it would take JPL 6 hours to manufacture one and they decided that was too long. In the end they had plenty of time and could have even gone to a Mall beforehand.
Oh now i understand, TBH skills have always been an issue for me in Traveller.
Glad the playthrough went well none the less.
as an aside been going through your Pioneering Space Adventures some really good nuggets in there. Thanks for making that available.
