Traveller supplement covering quasi-magic in very low TL

[Nidhogg]

I would really love to see a Traveller supplement that covers the running of and mechanics around using the Traveller rules to simulate magic or quasi-magic effects in very low TL settings. A particular inspiration for this type of thing for me would be the The Killing Machine by Jack Vance (part of the Demon Princes series) in which they detail and isolated planet where one of the antagonists sets himself up as a magician/wizard on a low tech planet by using technology etc. I think this would be really cool for a Traveller especially to start off in a quasi-fantasy setting then slowly bring the world of the players crashing down around them as they realise that magic is actually technology and there is a whole wide universe out there.

I think *some* of this could be done already with the Psion book but I kinda think psionics would be a bit of a cop-out (as that pretty much IS magic) and would rather see mechanics based around manipulation of arcane devices that later turn out to be rather mundane technology in the wider universe.

Of course all of this can be done already with the existing rules and a lot of work on behalf of the GM but I would love to see a supplement on it to make things easier.

 

[tneva82]

There was article for this in S&P. Might be good starting point for you

 

[Nathan Brazil]

A Traveller Compatible Book is out called Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller by Samardan Press. You will see many familiar d20 SRD concepts in the game ported over to Traveller. That is for "regular magic" as it were. Not exactly as you are looking for, but it allows the building of spells systematically, rather than a "feel right and balanced" manner.

You have a great idea. I have not read the book, but it sounds like the basis of a Feudal Technocracy. The big problem would be explaining how anyone has access or more importanly, knowledge of the "crunchy" bits of the magic.

 

[Nidhogg]

Tneva82: Thanks for the info. Any idea which S&P it is in? I had a look at the index over on the Traveller board but none of the article titles jump out at me as being about this... I suppose I can always look through them all but that would be somewhat time consuming!

Nathan: Yeah I have seen another fan made system similar to the Flynn's Guide you mentioned but as you say it is not exactly what I am looking for as to reconcile the system with the higher tech portions of the universe later on you would either wind up with something like high tech Spelljammer or have to resort to psionics to explain it all.

I think feudal technocracy probably sums it up well... I suppose I would envisage that almost no one would really know any of the crunchy bits aside from the "arch-mage" types... certainly not the players initially though having them gradually uncover the truth would be part of the fun of the campaign. I suppose I would envisage most magic users as using often purloined artefacts that they poorly understand to produce effects that they consider as magic (but are of course technological in reality). The effects of these could be as many an varied as the effects of technology but the key being that the society sees the effects as magical.

This could equally be used to run scenarios where more run of the mill high tech travellers get marooned on a strange world and have to negotiate this somewhat odd type of society to escape off-world.

 

[AndrewW]

Tneva82: Thanks for the info. Any idea which S&P it is in? I had a look at the index over on the Traveller board but none of the article titles jump out at me as being about this... I suppose I can always look through them all but that would be somewhat time consuming!

Signs & Portents issue #78, Gods of the Space Age on page: 20.

The Index hasn't been updated much lately.

 

[Nidhogg]

Ahh thanks for that Andrew. This is very much in line with what I was looking for and a good starting point...

Still a full supplement on this would be very cool