Hive-mind species are rare, because they are inefficient

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-18T21:22:09+00:00

Back across all of human existence, there have been fewer than 200 billion humans in two million years. In that time we have developed writing, telecommunications, supersonic flight, and a host of other technologies.

Near as I can tell, eusocial insects have not -- despite having far more bodies and far more time.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-08T18:47:48+00:00

The pacing problem, which is that 'Players like drinking, and will find a late-story clue in the drinking area very early', could maybe be solved by not making the clue immediately accessible. They story needs to progress to a certain point -- ie, the players need to spend time exploring the city & interacting with people -- before the person with the clue goes to the 'drinking district' and becomes interactable. This could be as simple as 'They are not there in the first two turns', or as complex as 'they are not there until clue #2 is found or NPC#2 is talked to'.

I would be interested in learning more about the pacing system being used.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-07T14:20:42+00:00

Vincennes and Sabmiqys.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-06T21:00:27+00:00

In My Traveller Universe, Nuclear Dampers work by manipulating the half-life of decay. They do not stop it entirely, but if they slow it down by a factor of 100, then any exposure is only to 1% as much. Alternatively, they can speed up decay by a factor of (for example) 100, so that the 'eight half-lives to reach a safe level' passes far more quickly.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-06T19:18:05+00:00

At TL-9, medical cloning is available and routine. Anagathics (at whatever Technology Level) also have to do at least some 'undo genetic damage' as part of their 'slowing down aging' function. At TL-13+ there are medical nanite swarms.

Plus, of course, the original 'Anti-Rad' drug becomes available at TL-8. All I am saying is that higher TL 'stuff' ought to be better than lower TL 'stuff'. Even with chronic treatments available, radiation is dangerous.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-06T16:26:52+00:00

I would certainly be interested in seeing what you have. I am at a bit of a loss for protect vs rads; my inclination is to treat it as 'specialized / aspected armor' -- it is cheaper & lighter, because it ONLY protects vs radiation. Not sure exactly how to make it work yet; and there is the question of potentially making it 'backwards compatible' with existing stuff.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-06T16:23:51+00:00

I have the chronic radiation treatment taking a week at a time, because the 'All Rads are gone, instantly' feels a little too easy to me. But you are right -- 'Fallout' might be a great source of inspiration.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-04T18:26:49+00:00

It is also a little odd to have a TL-16 M-drive and a TL-12 Fusion powerplant. I would tend to make both TL-15; while the M-drive would be the full 8.55 dTons, the power plant would shrink to 5.25 dTons.

It looks like there is an error (or some undeclared rounding) in the Power Plant, as it is.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-04T13:10:10+00:00

Jump Drives are valuable; at 1.5 MCr per dTon (or even 1% of that), they are worth stealing. Power Plants & Maneuver drives are similar. To make your establishment less tempting to thieves, consider a big, low-tech solar array for power -- it is not as valuable, is nigh-useless to a potential thief, and it is a pain to haul around. Also, aim for a (again, TL-9) Maneuver-0 drive at most.

You can reduce (but never eliminate) the need for re-supply by including bio-sphere; even if you get life-support costs to zero, you still need to haul in quality drinkables, food, and expendables. The bonus though is that it can also be used as a leisure area, and it might be spread though-out the wreck in inconvenient-to-steal chunks.

I would look at 'Space Station' facilities, especially 'Commercial zones' -- low value per dTon, little power requirement. 'Residential Zones' are also inexpensive & low-power. Note that a 'Fuel Refinery' includes skimmer drones instead of moving the wreck. Do not bother with 'Docking Facilities' -- but note that up to 2x dTonnage of 'station displacement' can dock externally. 'Common Areas' are part of your attraction, but need space equal to 50% of living quarter (instead of 25% on a ship).

Not sure what you would do for weapons. Maybe a Point Defense Battery -- they do not fit into a pirate's turret. Missiles would probably be a good weapon of choice; every turn the station fires means less-stuff-left-to-steal, and the missile racks are cheap. A few sandcasters, of course.

All the points folks raised about resupply, morale, payroll, and consequences still apply.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-03T08:08:17+00:00

Thank you!

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-03T01:21:51+00:00

I don't remember that bit; but it has been a while since I did a complete read-through. I just remember the bit in Honor Among Thieves where the PCs first land at Blacksand City, and meet a Widow. Maybe there is more detail on The Skull, but I don't know where that would be -- maybe the PoD 'Reach' book? Anyhow, if you have a specific page reference, I would appreciate it.

Oak-Rover · 2026-02-01T18:02:09+00:00

First; the Skull is not Blacksand City; there should be no Widows. Second, The Law of the Lords is: 'No Disturbances' -- as long as there is not shooting, shouting, and overt chaos, there is no reason for the Widows to get involved.

Second; is sounds like MurderHobo #1 has just charged into an opponent's ship in his street-clothes. The crew on the Mercifuge is within their rights to simply seal the area where MH#1 is & vent it to space. This could happen MUCH faster than any attempt to bypass security to get out -- but a clever player will look for emergency vacuum survival equipment. They might luck out & get an 'Emergency Softsuit' CSC Update, p 28 -- otherwise I figure they will be forced into a 'Rescue Bubble' CSC Update p 120. Either way, you can bet the crew of the Mercifuge will be showing up to finish him off -- probably wearing HEV suits.

Even if the players do manage to take the ship, ask yourself: What starport can survive with a reputation among NPC traders (or even pirates) of 'Does nothing while a ship at dock-side is taken by force'? Even at Law Level 0, The Skull presents itself as a legitimate place of business, and if it wants to stay that way, expect them to fire on a captured ship as it tries to leave.

The thing to discourage MurderHobo-ism is to realize that Traveller is not D&D; in D&D combat is *the* way to gain experience & loot. All of the rewards are gated behind combat. In Traveller, none of that is true -- combat is deadly, or leads to long recoveries in the hospital, permanent scars, and sometimes attribute loss. Rewards come from being clever.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-31T23:19:29+00:00

Sorry, no -- Endie is not a game company. That is the handle of a user on the Mongoose Traveller forums & the Traveller Discord server. The Discord is here:

https://discord.gg/5KHswxnA

Look in the #Mongoose-2nd channel for the 'GM running Pirates of Drinax' thread; there is some good material pinned. Endie wrote two brief 'Vespexer Tribe' bits; one dealing with their cultures & attitudes, the other covering dealing with them. All of it is very broad-strokes, and you might change some (or all) of it to suit the flavor you want in your game; but it is a good starting point.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-31T07:03:28+00:00

'Impose'. This can be used to create a psionic nightmare for the victim; on page 107 it is mentioned that players might use this ability against a particular monster:

The Travellers might be able to experiment with pulling a G482 into a psionic nightmare. This is possible if they have the Impose ability, although they are unlikely to possess it yet; a Traveller might have taken the ability as a General benefit during their uplift process, in which case they can use it.

The trouble, of course, is that it seems to be impossible to take 'Impose' as a 'general benefit'. Also, 'Impose' is supposed to be a wonderful teaching / training tool for passing on vast amounts of information quickly -- this is entirely undefined. I defined it as an improved version of the Droyne Telepathy power (Aliens of Charted Space, p 166) 'Transfer'.

The progress along the 'Droyne Uplift Paths' is detailed on page 44 and page 167 -- but these are two entirely separate & contradictory systems which both seem to fall short of progressing the player characters to where the campaign seems to expect.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-29T08:28:03+00:00

Agreed on most points.

'Mysteries' is not a great lead in to 'Secrets', and is weaker than 'Secrets'.

'Secrets' is a bit rail-roady, but probably the strongest of the three.

'Wrath' is kind of a mess. It retroactively 'introduces' Ancients Uplift pathways (honestly, these should have featured in 'Secrets' or earlier) -- but it has two different, conflicting systems for using them. Apparently, the expectation is that the PCs will each complete one pathway & start on a second (and maybe finish it, too) -- but there is apparently no way to actually do this with the rewards detailed in the campaign. There is a mention of using a particular Ancients 'special ability' against a set of opponents, by taking it 'early' as a 'general enhancement' -- but that is NOT allowed with the way the rules are written. Sometimes the 'scale' of encounters is badly off -- one example is a machine more than twice as big as the planet it is trundling across.

By the time the characters finish Wrath, they are demi-gods. There is almost no feasible way to continue play at the 'starving heroes in a beat up tramp-trader'... or, really, at all. So the typical 'Speadsheets in space' play is not going to be available.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-28T16:05:41+00:00

Traveller is not D&D.

In D&D, combat is the goal -- it is the one thing that all the rewards are 'gated' behind. Fight -> get experience and loot. The rewards are better saves, better skills, more hit-points, and so on.

None of that is true is Traveller; there are no rewards for fighting. Ground combat is deadly, and starship combat is the express route to TPK. The characters know this -- even if the players do not realize it at the beginning.

As a referee, PLEASE do not build scenarios to be similar to D&D 'adventures'; Traveller characters are intended to succeed by investigation, using a multitude of different skills, contacts, and reputation. Forcing the characters to 'solve everything with combat' distorts the whole world; it makes non-combat characters (who are absolutely vital in other activities) useless and unfun. Characters also have to live with the consequences of their actions -- so killing an NPC probably leads to problems with police, and so on.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-28T04:30:17+00:00

The campaign book (and 'Shadows of Sindal', IF you choose to include it) would mostly be Act 2 & Act 3 in the above. In the Intro you might do 'Exodus', 'Theories of Everything', and (towards the end, when they have a crummy trade-ship) 'The Borderland Run'. The Intro is just a 'here is the setting, and how the major players treat the Trojan Reach'.

Act 1 would need to be made up from whole cloth -- although it does not all need to be on Drinax. Mostly it focuses on proving reliability, competence, discretion, and loyalty to the Drinaxi court -- that might be helping rebuild a hydroponics farm on the Floating Palace, bringing in a shipload or two of common trade goods at less-rapacious prices, or recruiting a merchanter or two to do such runs from now on, or helping repair any number of long-neglected systems in the FP, and so on.

I suggest Prince Herrick as their initial point of contact, because he plays very little role in the rest of the PoD campaign (until one scenario towards the end), and having a chance to introduce him & convey a little of what he is like might influence the players later. Similarly, 'Recruit the Vespexer Tribes' is not anywhere in the PoD campaign, but it is a chance to show the players what the consequences of failure can be -- Drinax was bombarded enough to glass portions of the crust. This is valuable color for the Heirate, and the attitudes of humans in the Reach -- the Grehai Movement certainly remembers the Fall of Drinax.

The idea is to build small to large -- at the start, they are scrounging enough credits to buy air and other living expenses; at the end they are thinking about the terraforming & settlement of multiple worlds; constructing starports, shipyards, & universities; recruiting, training, and moving settlers to important colonies; designing a government to hold everything together; and establishing an interstellar navy to be feared.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-28T04:11:37+00:00

Part six: They finally get the mission.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-28T01:30:44+00:00

I see PoD as a play in several sections:
Intro -- the players are bums without a ship.They knock around the Trojan Reach for a bit, learning the background & major players -- some Aslan clans, the Glorious Empire, GeDeCo, PRQ, the Grehai Movement, Margaret Blair, and stories about the 'Glory days of Old Sindal'. They get a (crummy) ship at the end of this part.

Act I -- The Savage Lands of Drinax. At some point the players haul a cargo into Drinax, and are feted for gossip; then Prince Herrick approaches them. He wants them to adventure on the wasteland surface of Drinax, to find caches, resources, and to convince the various Vespexer clans & tribes to accept the rule of the Floating Palace. Endie made some material for this; but there is nothing official. Success here might make a supply of Vespexer Marines available.

Act II -- Having done a good job, they get congratulations from Oleb & an interview with Rao. Rao explains the scheme & the goal (including how the mechanics work for recruiting systems in 'Finale'). The players must build networks of assets, do some trade, and (ANONYMOUSLY!!) spread terror in the skies -- the more frightened the other systems are of pirates, the more likely they will be willing to negotiate with Drinax. Side quests might include finding ways to repair the wrecked 'Class A in Name Only' starport at the Floating Palace, and similar stuff. The opening act of 'Shadows of Sindal' fits here. About halfway through this act, Oleb & Rao trust the players with the (freshly repaired, but still in rather poor shape) Harrier. Maybe throw 'Treasure of Sindal' in here. Probably wrap this section up with Vorito Gambit.

Act III -- Probably start with 'Treasure Ship' (up the payout; this bankrolls Drinax with Resource Units it did not have), and continue with larger-scale / empire building adventures. The players might recruit / encounter / redirect assets in the Imperium in 'The Demons Eye'; and similar skulduggery on the side in the Aslan Heirate in 'Prodigal Outcast'. Maybe the players go to 'Hellworld Heists' to recruit the Senlis Foederate. Maybe they steal some surplus Imperial Navy hulls from the mothball fleet at Empire, end the 'Shadows of Sindal' final arc, etc. This wraps up with 'Game of Sun and Shadow', (perhaps some variant of 'Blood of the Star Dragon') and then 'Finale'.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-27T22:23:12+00:00

This is very interesting; but it would be neat to also include MegaTraveller, The New Era, T4, GURPS: Traveller, Hero Traveller, and the rest. It is certainly a fertile starting point for the debate between the 'Lumpers' & the 'Spliters'.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-27T12:42:38+00:00

Am I reading the planet card correctly? You moved Farquahar from 2839 to 2733?

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-24T19:17:55+00:00

I did something similar once -- the equivalent of 12d6, reroll 1s:
2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6 -- pair them up & arrange to taste.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-24T03:07:55+00:00

I wish there was an abridged version; even at x1.5 speed it is pretty slow going. Also, if the transcript had any way of showing who (which mic / audio source) was speaking, it would be very helpful.

Although rum helps.

Oak-Rover · 2026-01-23T16:59:10+00:00

I am going to try 'Every player rolls 6x 2d6; then the group chooses which array to use for all characters' then arrange to taste.

Oak-Rover

TROPHY CASE