Category Archives: Starships

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Reviews, Science Fiction, Starships, Traveller

Traveller Inspiration: Free e-books

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Traveller was first published 1977, and was inspired by even older science fiction. While this means that the computer rules used in traveller might feel a bit obsolete, it also means that for some of the books it was inspired by, the copyright has expired. (The computer rules are quite easy to ignore or modify anyway, so that doesn’t matter much.)

At Project Gutenberg, some works that has inspired traveller can be downloaded in several formats that will fit your e-book reader. It is also possible to read them directly on the web.

Here is a suggestion of five books for you to download:

1, Space Viking by H. Beam Piper

In Space Viking, there is a group of planets called Sword Worlds that are named after legendary swords. Doesn’t that seem familiar… The image below of the spherical ships  is from the book. They look a lot like the Mercenary Cruisers from traveller.

2, Deathworld by Harry Harrison

Jason dinAlt is the hero of the Deathworld books. In the Traveller Supplement 1, 1001 Characters, you can find his stats as hero #3, the Rapscallion Gambler. Jason dinAlt is skilled in gambling and also has a psionic talent, that can help his gambling. In Traveller, gambling is a skill, and psionics isn’t impossible.

3, Gambler’s World by Keith Laumer

Jame Retief is a Diplomat for the Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne. In Traveller Supplement 4, Citizens of the Imperium you can find his stats as hero #5.

4, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Hero #1 of the Traveller Supplement 1 is John Carter. In the Solomani Rim (0239), there is a small planet named Barsoom.

5, Triplanetary by E. E. Smith

Triplanetary is a Lensman prequels. Kimball Kinnison of the Lensman series is hero #2 in the Traveller Supplement 1. GDW also published a game called Triplanetary before they published Traveller.

Mercenary Cruiser?

Image from Project Gutenberg. Copyright expired.

Adventures, Mapping, Science, Starships, Traveller

T Pyxidis

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T Pyxidis is a star that we have heard about in the news recently. The scientist Dr Sion claims that it will go supernova quite soon and threaten the earth. Other scientists say that this is not the case.

In any case, T Pyxidis is an interesting object that will be interesting to study. Especially in the Far Future when we can go there. It is only 1000 parsecs away. It will only take about 4 years to go there with an average speed of jump-5. So lets equip a 100-kton scout-cruiser and go there! It will be an epic adventure. 😀

T Pyx

Image from NASA. Public Domain.

Only referees should read on.

Continue reading T Pyxidis →

Adventures, Observances, Starships, Traveller

Talk like a (space) Pirate

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Today is talk like a Pirate day. How does a traveller space pirate talk?

Some say that pirates are not feasible in traveller. They say that the impies and/or other powers will swiftly crush any piracy. 🙁

I do not agree! :mrgreen:

If we look at the planet earth, in the year 2009, we can see that piracy does happen in the most unexpected places. It doesn’t have to happen along the coast of a country in anarchy. It could even happen in the Baltic.

What happened (and why) to the ship Arctic Sea could absolutely be transformed into a traveller adventure.

Remember that a pirate could also be a privateer. Then the pirate would be a lot easier. A pdf-file about privateering in traveller can be downloaded here.

Pirates doesn’t only have to operate corsair ships built using book-2. They could also use old warships or government sponsored privateers build using book-5 rules. That would give the pirates a better fighting chance. 😈

Starships, Traveller

Azhanti High Lightning

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I have just bought a copy of Azhanti High Lightning on ebay the whole thing is as new….but there is not supplement-5 in it. I wrote to the seller, but he was a dealer and claimed that was all he had. So I have the deck plans, the rules booklet, the weapons table and a lot of counters. Can anyone tell me what is in supplement-5 and perhaps tell me what I need to know to make the game work. I have 14 deckplans but how many decks are there on the ship and what are the rooms, can anyone help a poor vargr.
Harold