cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32932372

Stargone: A brief overview of the frontier of human space after the war.

The planet Neu Valais was a command hub for the human colonial militia during the war. As human territories were lost to the Cyborg Collective, FTL travel paths to the planet opened up and a CYCOL nodesphere, a massive command ship took a position over the planet. In a desperate attempt to destroy it, and experimental one shot cannon on the ground fired. It hit and damaged but did not destroy the nodesphere.

The fight in orbit and on the ground was brutal, with CYCOL attacks creating holes in air defenses to land ground troops to further destroy the air defenses and command centers.

Corporate military forces which had been assigned to protect corporate material on loan to the colonial forces and to protect VIPs were ordered to pull out. The corporations saw the fight as a loss.

The corporate forces eventually pulled completely off the surface and CYCOL focused on assaulting the deeply entrenched colonial military command centers.

But that all happened back in '73 and the war ended not soon after that.

Everyone knows the ending of the war, so I won't retell it. The surface of Neu Valais an urban wasteland, the nodesphere above it derelict. Some crazies out there looking for scraps. Even some CYCOL out there that were never quite right after they lost the nodesphere.

Nowadays, VB-Sierra is the planet that's the big last hub for humans heading out past the stable areas. The corporations even made nice with the Arweli, which rubs some people the wrong way given how the war went, but I guess it's easier to forgive frogs than tin heads.

But profit potential is enough to keep the peace, more or less. VB-Sierra's infrastructure is growing every year. Which is amazing for a planet with mutomorph infestation.

When the Universal Corporate Council reorganized in '75, the Prosperity Church gained a primary seat as a recognized corporate power.

By then, there was a lot of religion going around.

But '75 into '76 was a lot of rumbling in the corporate controlled spaces. The colonies had collapsed during the war, leading to their populations flooding into corporate space. Many of them had been put to work, but it was clearly an unsustainable situation. Some groups of displaced colonists had gone on a one way trip to earth, but the results of those trips was yet unknown. Many other colonists, especially military veterans or those with special expertise looked to go back out into the old warzone, what was now thought of as a frontier to make profits in salvaging valuables or surveying for the rebuilding of colonies.

What is out in the frontier are a great deal of unknown unknowns. Teams that head out into the frontier are not just seeing what has become of human colonies, but venturing into what used to be Arweli or CYCOL territory and seeing things never before seen by humans.

The Universal Corporate Council, UCC, was a collective entity representing the interests of the major corporations. Before the war it was powerful but balanced by the combined powers of the colonies. After the war, it is the only central human political entity remaining. At least aside from possibly earth, but no one really knows what it is like anymore.

The UCC wants to expand its tendrils into the frontier by directly controlling the new colonies that will be rebuilt. Of course now that there is little external opposition, the infighting among UCC members and executives is in full swing.

cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/22318947

This is a follow-up to my previous post about setting up for a GM-less Traveller game. We have now had a Session 0 that covered tone-setting and character creation, and last night we played our first session (spoiler: it went great!). I am reporting back to share with you.

Session 0

I am a believer in the concept of a Session 0 so, even though I have been playing games for decades with these guys, I still asked to have one. The main focus was on campaign theme. Since Pirates of Drinax is a sandbox setting, I wanted to make sure we drill down to what we collectively wanted and agreed for the experience to be.

I am also a Sly Flourish fanboy, and I like his idea of the Campaign One-Pager. I created one for the Session 0, to identify the key ideas and serve as a guide document. The important bits are cut and pasted below in blockquotes, just in case someone wants to reproduce this thing we're doing.

CAMPAIGN PITCH

The King of Drinax offers a small band of trusted, resourceful bastards the chance to make their fortune. He gives them a ship and a letter of marque. They are to go adventuring in the Trojan Reach, a lawless region of space wedged between the Third Imperium and the Aslan Hierate. The travellers are charged to prey on shipping lanes and build support in the worlds once held by the Star Kingdom of Drinax, playing the great powers against each other. If they succeed, they will become royalty in the renewed kingdom. If they fail, the stars will be their grave.

TRUTHS

• The Star Kingdom of Drinax was once a mighty empire that ruled the Trojan Reach, but it collapsed two centuries ago after a devastating war with the Aslan.
• The Floating Palace of Drinax is now all that remains of the kingdom — an ancient, decaying orbital city ruled by King Oleb and his ambitious court.
• The Harrier-class Commerce Raider, an advanced stealth warship from Drinax’s golden age, is entrusted to the travellers as a tool to reclaim lost influence.
• The Trojan Reach is a volatile region filled with independent worlds, Aslan clans, Imperium border outposts, and pirate havens that are ripe for manipulation or conquest.
• King Oleb’s Charter gives privateers legal authority to raid enemies of Drinax, but it’s a thin veil of legitimacy in a sector where law is often what you make of it.
• The rise or fall of Drinax depends on how the travellers navigate a tangled web of alliances, rivalries, and ancient grudges — peace, war, or empire are all possible.

PATRON

King Oleb – The fiery, aging ruler of Drinax. A former warrior turned king, determined to restore his fallen kingdom by any means necessary.

MAJOR FACTIONS

• Third Imperium
• Aslan Heirate
• General Development Company

Everything up to this point is more or less straight from the Pirates of Drinax setting, intended to set the stage for the game. After discussing this piece, we focused on what theme we want. As I said above, Pirates of Drinax is a sandbox setting, where pretty much anything is possible. However, I thought it would be beneficial to identify the general theme and feel beforehand, so we have bumpers for where to steer the game as it plays out. For example, I don't find blood-thirsty murderhobo'ing to be fun (as you might do in a pirate game). The three of us discussed our desired themes and came up with the following:

THEMES

• Empire-building
• Privateering
• Robin Hood-esque
• Machiavellian-benevolence

CREW BOND

We all want better lives for the worlds and peoples of the Trojan Reach. Ex. stability, noblesse oblige “obligation of the nobles”, fairness and redistribution of wealth

With these themes and the crew bond agreed upon, we then set to making characters. Since there isn't a GM, we just shared the duties. If one of us had a question about a thing, the other two served as the GM for that question. We each made our characters simultaneously and stepped through terms together. So, we each did term 1, then went on to term 2, etc.

With that in mind, we did agree to some house rules at the outset:

TRAVELLER CREATION GUIDELINES

• When you fail on a survival roll, you may take 1 mulligan where you instead succeed
• Can optionally make multiple characters and choose the one you vibe with the most

If you are a Traveller purist, the mulligan on the survival roll might make your blood pressure rise. We figured that this game is for us and having that mulligan did help the other guys (I didn't use mine). We also decided on the multiple characters, to help ease the pressure that you'd come up with a 'good' character right away. However, all of us used the first character we made.

Session 1 - Getting started

With characters made, we scheduled our first game which happened last night. We had a ton of fun! As a reminder, we are using Mythic Game Master Emulator 2e as our referee, so I will be referencing mechanics from that system (I can explain further in the comments if asked). There was some initial clumsiness with navigating how the Mythic rules and Traveller character sheet worked, but it didn't take long to get going. The session took about 3 and a half hours, with about the first hour being spent finishing our characters.

Here are some quick bullets of the session:

• Scene 1: Taking stock of the Harrier and making repairs. We decided to start after our crew met with the King and received their charge. Most of this scene was deciding what to do about all the damage to the ship and spending ship shares to repair some of it.
• Scene 2: Hunting down Sindalian tech leads. In this scene we started leaning into the Mythic mechanics to ask if our characters knew of any places where we might find salvage that could be used to continue repairing the ship. We had heard rumors or wrecks on the Drinax surface. We decide to fly to the surface to make contact with one of the tribes that lives down there.
• Scene 3: It's a trap! The Mythic mechanic that throws curveballs did so, and we walked right into a military trap, placed by the locals. Considering we were coming here to ask these people for their help, we luckily talk them down and are able to negotiate.
• Scene 4: Turning enemies into allies. It turns out the tribespeople of Drinax are fed up with their station in life and being forgotten. The tribal leaders have formed a coalition to rebel against the King of Drinax and we just happened to be the first people to come down from the palace. We tell the coalition of our plan (recall the themes above) and convince them to help as allies to the cause.
• Scene 5: Living with the tribes montage. Mythic threw us another curveball which we interpreted as the tribes wanting us to live with them for a while, prior to them joining any alliance. We figure this is because they want us to understand their perspective and what they are going through in their lives. We ask Mythic a bunch of questions to learn more about the tribes and flesh out their peoples.
• Next time: Searching for lost tech. The montage scene seemed like a great place to end, so we set up for the beginning of our next session. The tribal leaders revealed that they knew where a Sindalian wreck was, and one of their people could guide us there. They make it clear that this will be a test of our trustworthiness.

Keep in mind, this was all generated using the Mythic rules. There is no GM and no adventure. We would ask Mythic questions (as you would to a GM), and Mythic would give yes/no type answers. Sometimes we would need more and use Mythic to generate meaning. Meaning comes in the form of randomly generated word pairs, which we interpret as a group. In this way, the story evolved as we played through it.

Takeaways

• Using Mythic as a GM was clunky at first but generated an interesting and surprising story
• The main downside to Mythic was having to reference a lot of tables for meaning and yes/no answers
• But, I think we also enjoyed the structure and crunch of the Mythic system
• Having 3 minds interpreting meaning was very helpful and likely contributed to the fun factor, as opposed to playing truly solo
• Overall, we all agreed that the game was way more fun than we would have guessed and exceeded expectations

Several Sci-Fi RPGs included in the bundle.

Wild Bee Publishing just released a new adventure for their Cepheus setting, Kosmic. It's called Knife Party and it's discounted 37.5% now, 60+ pages going for $5.

Last month, Graham Richardson (Lionhearth Games) organized the TripTech Game Jam, where contestants would create Tripanels (you know, the form factor of those pamphlets that fold in three) for Mothership.

Anyway, all 39 submissions are listed at the bottom of the page:

https://itch.io/jam/triptech-game-jam-052025

I found out about this jam thanks to this video by Dave Thaumavore in which he talks about the experience of being part of the jam and then shows off a few of the tripanels.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/64486374

https://bsky.app/profile/zalmon.bsky.social/post/3lggugbe64s2n

More at source

A nice freebie for spanish-speaking (spanish-reading?) sci-fi genre enthusiasts. Of course, you can still browse it, enjoy the art and get inspiration even if you can't read spanish.

https://grapasymapas.com/cosmophobia

"A role playing game themed on Sci-Fi and corpoorate horror"

Edit: There's another Sci-Fi game in the same site, but with less horror, called Vieja Estrella:

https://grapasymapas.com/viejaestrella

The whole site is devoted to providing free RPG stuff in Spanish in a very English-dominant hobby (though they also have their fantasy offering in Galician, French, Basque, Portuguese, and Catalan). Most of their stuff has very simple mechanics and a very old-school vibe.

Welcome to a local space bar known for its cheap drinks, good food, and warm environment full of people. This place is frequented mostly by locals, although it's not uncommon to spot travelers sitting at the bar.

This dive bar features a large bar table, booths for dining, pool tables, and a stage for performers. There is a storage area at the bottom left, and a kitchen, office, and restrooms near the top right. This map pack features 3 unique variants, including a modern dive bar, a 1920's prohibition-era bar, and a cyberpunk bar.

Check out the full map pack here.

There's a Bundle of Holding for Shadowrun 6E: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2025SR6Essentials

The Starter Collection includes: Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rules - Berlin, No Future (Sixth World version), and Neo-Anarchist Streetpedia.

The Bonus Collection includes: Firing Squad, Street Wyrd, Double Clutch, Krime Katalog, and Gun Rack

EDIT: There's also a bundle called Sixth World Shadows... https://bundleofholding.com/presents/SixthWorldShadows

Starter Collection includes: The Sixth World Companion, Shoot Straight, and the cyberware and Matrix rulebooks.

Bonus Collection includes: Shadow Cast, Emerald City, Astral Ways, Null Value, and Wild Life

Tucked away along some road is a tiny barbershop, which seems to attract seedy clients and suspicious individuals. Most people seem to avoid this barbershop, straying clear of its doors and the rough-looking men standing outside. This place is actually the hideout of a notorious gang that runs a large part of the city. Watch your step when entering this place!

This building includes two floors. The first floor is comprised of the barbershop, some storage rooms, and a bar/lounge area for gang members.

The second floor includes beds, a computer/control room with cameras to monitor the premises, and a grow room that includes the merchandise. This map pack features modern & cyberpunk variations, along with two alternate hideouts of weapons dealers and organ harvesters.

Check out the full map pack here.

cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/18431306

These are a few bundles that are ongoing in celebration of Mayday...

Mongoose Traveller 2E includes: Mongoose Traveller 2E Starter Set, MGT Companion Update 2024, and Central Supply Catalogue Update 2023 in the basic tier. On the extended tier: High Guard Update 2022, Traveller Vehicle Handbook 2E, Six Traveller 2E Referee Briefings, and Traveller 2E Referee's Screen Update 2024.

Pirates of Drinax includes: Pirates of Drinax (MgT 2E) and 3 MgT 2E Reach Adventures in the basic tier. And in the extended tier: MgT 2E Drinaxian Companion, MgT 2E Shadows of Sindal, and 3 more MgT 2E Reach Adventures.

Free Trader Beowulf includes This is Free Trader Beowulf only.

Traveller Imperium Tour includes: The Traveller Book, The Traveller Adventure, 6 Traveller starship plans, S12 Forms and Charts, Classic Traveller Facsimile Edition, and Classic Traveller Orientation Pack in the basic tier. And the extended tier includes: 8 Traveller Alien Modules and 5 Third Imperium guides.

FASA Traveller includes: ISCV King Richard + Action Aboard, 5 FASA Traveller adventures, and Starport Hotel Complex for the basic tier. The extended tier includes: Sky Raiders trilogy FCI Consumer Guide, 4 FASA Traveller Deck Modules, and FASA Adventure Class Ships 1-4.

Gamelords Traveller which includes: Pilot's Guide to the Drexilthar Subsector, 3 Gamelords planet environments, 3 Gamelords planetary adventures, and 3 Gamelords adventure anthologies in the basic tier. And for the extended tier: 9 Cargonauts supplements and 8 Marischal Folio.

Anyting I missed?

Edit (May 2nd) - Traveller5 bundle includes: Traveller5 Core Rules 3-Book Set, T5 Starships & Spacecraft deck plans, and T5 Gazelle-Class Close Escorts

cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/18308254

With mayday around the corner, offers are starting to pop up. One such is this Bundle of Holding which includes This is Free Trader Beowolf (and only that).

And yes, the discount is good. But I do try my best to only buy stuff that I actually want/need. Sometimes I even succeed ;).

So I come here asking for your opinion.

Is it worth it? Do you love it?

cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/18302792

Welcome to the 7th Annual Traveller RPG Mayday Mayday celebration—a virtual convention dedicated to all things Traveller! Whether you love classic campaigns or modern expansions, this event celebrates the rich history and future of the Traveller universe.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/62610395

https://bsky.app/profile/humanoidhistory.bsky.social/post/3lnskcv7id22e

You may already know this if you play Traveller, but in case you don't, The Zhodani Base is a webpage devoted to Traveller and other Sci-Fi games.

The linked page is a curated repository of free PDFs.

Modiphius will be releasing a new game called Space 1999, "coming this spring".

Apparently there was a board game by the same name. Anyone know it?

There's a quickstart available at DTRPG.

2-Minute Tabletop has released a Sci-Fi map called the Power Core (the image used as thumbnail is a zoomed-in portion of the core itself). You can get the full map here:

https://2minutetabletop.com/power-core-battle-map/

In case you don't yet know about it, 2-Minute Tabletop is a site where a few creators (originally just the one) create battlemaps for TTRPGs. Most of the maps are free, with paid option for mutiple variants.

You do have to get an account to download even the free versions (usually a zip with PDF and high-quality JPEGs), or you can just view the medium-sized preview on the webpage.

*Bright flashing lights, the sight of people dancing shoulder to shoulder, and the smell of off-world substances permeate this nightclub. In the city that never sleeps, this club is a haven for all sorts of people, from seedy street men to mid-level executives. * This map features multiple rooms including a VIP lounge, security room, the club manager’s office, and a smallerf bar area. The main room features a large circular bar with disco lights, surrounded by places to sit.

This map pack includes Nightclub & Adult Club variants, including versions without lights. All patrons get access to gridded/ungridded and high-resolution maps.

Check out the full map pack here.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/59305590

Orbital Trouble: d12 Space Outpost Hooks - Roleplaying Tips

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27100781

Another test I wanted to make.

Not quite happy with the result, I find it a bit "meh". But I do intend to use it later in a collage of sorts.

This is a location we played a few years ago (the place where my "milk run" unfolded). though back then we used theatre of the mind. But as I was staring at a blank canvas for this test I wanted to make, I decided to give it a go.

If you're into papercraft, this might appeal to you.

This youtuber usually does a lot of fantasy stuff, but this time we got a Sci-Fi shuttle.

Just a small test I wanted to try out, but I thought I'd still share.

Hi all, I do not have much to add, besides I am running a MgT2 Traveller game right now and made my own sector, To track everything I have set up a legendkeeper to share information with my players. There is also a ton of GM stuff in there but it is hidden and invisble. I thought this might be fun or inspiration for others too. edit I have no idea why the Link says "Attention required Cloudflare", link works fine.