SAFCOcast 23: To Violence Or Not To Violence

First, thanks to all our listeners for sticking with us! It has been two months since the last episode, which of course is not our goal, but life got in the way!

In this episode, besides the usual sections, our main topic deals with non-violent/non-combat Traveller (and other RPGs) sessions. Not arguing against a good shoot-em-up, but just using other kinds of challenges to create a good game.

We also mention Jeff’s table of 2d6 outcome probabilities, so here it is!

Relevant Links

SAFCOcast 22: Interview with Greg Caires about Virtual Traveller

In this episode we talk to Greg Caires about the October 2020 Virtual Traveller non-con that he and Ken Patterson organized. Always fun to talk to Greg!

Relevant links:

 

SAFCOcast 21: Mailbag, Rules and Internet Finds, and Session Discussion

This first light image from the Callisto telescope at the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) shows the famous Horsehead Nebula . First light for a newly commissioned telescope is a tremendously exciting time, and usually well-known astronomical objects such as this are captured to celebrate a new telescope commencing operations. The SSO is installed at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the vast Atacama Desert, Chile, and consists of four 1-metre planet-hunting telescopes. The project’s telescopes are named after Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and are neighbours of ESO’s Very Large Telescope and VISTA . SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.

In this episode we read some great email’s from listeners! Lots to think about! We also cover Internet Finds and Rules Finds, and discuss the latest session of our Into the Void Classic Traveller campaign!

Relevant links:

 

SAFCOcast 20: the Elements of a Traveller Game!

In this episode Jeff and Bob discuss the basic elements of a Traveller game, as detailed by Marc Miller in the Traveller Book.

Before that Bob does a short correction from the previous episode,  we do Internet Finds, and some fun Rules Finds, as well as present the last of the planets submitted in our Random Planet Generation Smackdown! (that system appears below, under the relevant links).

Relevant links:

 

Random Planet #9!

Faddle – from Pete Burke

C589632-8   Ni

Faddle is a cold, icy world with most of the surface covered in permafrost.  

There is a band approximately 400 miles wide around the equator that is comfortable and is actually considered pleasantly tropical.  The atmosphere is dense which helps create the effect Faddle is famous for – the floating “Udrassi” mats. 

Udrassi is a native organic lifeform that straddles the line between fungus, plant and animal life.  The udrassi combine into large circular floating mats that organize around a central hub.  On each hub,  three pools of amino acids are arranged in a triangular pattern – early colonists to the planet were able to quickly determine that by adding saline water of specific concentrations to the pools in certain sequuences, the mats could be raised, lowered or steered and also directed to attract or repel other floating mats. 

The mats are extremely strong – some colonists built houses and larger buildings anchoring into the mats themselves.  It wasn’t long until early colonial families created resort hotel compounds for tourists by assembling larger mats together – and by manipulating the hub pools on the mats, small towns developed by combining mats together.
  

The planet is mostly a recreation destination – the floating lifestyle of the permanent residents is very laid back .  Some floating resorts stay in the tropics all year round, while others float to a mountain range south of the equator in the permafrost region where a ski resort has been set up.

SAFCOcast 18: Classic Traveller Combat, Mailbag, and other Stuff

Our main topic, inspired by one of our SAFCO Mail Bag submissions, is a discussion of the combat procedure from Classic Traveller.

We also go through some great mailbag submissions, discuss the Central Supply Catalog supplement for Classic Traveller, Timothy Collinson’s Generation-X Traveller book, and Internet Finds!

Thanks to everyone for listening.

Relevant links:

SAFCOcast 17: interview with Ken Patterson, about the upcoming Virtual Traveller event

This episode is an interview with Ken Patterson, regarding the event he and Greg Caires are organizing for October 2020 — Virtual Traveller: a Weekend of Virus-Free Roleplaying.

The event can be found here, on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1205944649744350/

Jeff and I had a good time talking with Ken! We appreciate him coming on, and hope you enjoy the interview.

SAFCOcast 15: Random World, Awesome Online Con Game, and Other Traveller Delicacies

Weirdly we had no XBoat Transmissions this time! We need email!

In this episode, we get back to our Random Planet Generation project by reading about Algira, a planet created by Patrick Kanouse (full description below). Really nice work, Patrick!

We then move on to Internet Finds, including…

  • Darkest Stars, a Classic Traveller Fanzine by Omer Joel and Paul Elliott
  • Jeff finds two Traveller articles in online copies of the old Dragon magazine. Dragon #43 p 35: Traveller Adventure “Canard” by Roberto Camino is the first. We’ll post the other on our next episode!
  • Stray RPG Thoughts. Just found this  blog. Dude has amazing stuff about mega corps and the super rich in RPGs. Highly relevant for Traveller, Cyberpunk, or whatever.  https://strayrpgthoughts.blogspot.com/

Our main topic was our participation in an online Classic Traveller Game run by Greg Caires, as part of the online offerings of this year’s North Texas RPG Con. It used Greg’s Sappers character class, which appeared in Freelance Traveller, September/October 2019: Character Generation Rules: Deep Space Rescue Corps: A Career for Classic and MegaTraveller.

We wrap up with News of the Imperium, a new segment in which we discuss upcoming convention games and events relevant for Traveller, upcoming or recent product releases, and anything else that fits.  This time it included…

SAFCOcast 14: Traveller on Roll20, Session Recap, and other Traveller Stuff!

Note: Episodes 1-14 happened before we changed to a Traveller-only show. In those episodes we discuss some other RPGs. As time went on we realized we were really a Traveller-only podcast, and in Episode 15 officially made the switch. You will find lots of Traveller talk in 1-14. Just be aware.

In which Jeff and Bob discuss a very nice mailbag submission, recap the last Classic Traveller session of their Into the Void campaign, discuss their end-times transition to the Roll20 online system, and various other fun things like some rules finds! Also, Bob drops an f bomb that must be bleeped, thus revealing his true, dark nature!

SAFCOcast 13: Interview with Robert Eaglestone

Note: Episodes 1-14 happened before we changed to a Traveller-only show. In those episodes we discuss some other RPGs. As time went on we realized we were really a Traveller-only podcast, and in Episode 15 officially made the switch. You will find lots of Traveller talk in 1-14. Just be aware.

We are honored and happy that Robert Eaglestone, of the Xboat ‘zine joined us for conversation on this episode!

For those who don’t know, Rob did a very successful kickstarter for a four issue Traveller ‘zine called Xboat: a Traveller5 Zine. It’s a great publication! Bob and Jeff talk with Rob about his beginnings in Traveller, the zine, and of course playing the game!

SAFCOcast 12: Session Report, etc

Note: Episodes 1-14 happened before we changed to a Traveller-only show. In those episodes we discuss some other RPGs. As time went on we realized we were really a Traveller-only podcast, and in Episode 15 officially made the switch. You will find lots of Traveller talk in 1-14. Just be aware.

In this episode, Jeff and Bob discuss the length of the podcast, read some listener comments, look at the Classic Traveller rules for Cover/Concealment and the Medical skill, do a quick look at Gerry Miller Jr.’s excellet Agweedo-Girdena Traveller campaign, and do a quick discussion of our groups last Into the Void session.

Relevant Links