SAFCOcast - Traveller RPG and Cepheus Engine podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode we welcome back our friend Rob Eaglestone, to talk Traveller and especially the mysterious (to us) Galaxiad project/setting/whatever!

You can find all Rob's great Traveller publications on DriveThruRPG.

Agent of the Imperium - the authorized audio adaptation of Marc Miller's novel of the Traveller Universe - coming in 2026 from Greg Caires of Virtual Traveller and Perpetual Traveller and a team of talented sophonts!

In this episode I read a quick message from Greg Caires and Ken Patterson regarding the passing of Keith Frye the upcoming online memorial game for him, and then we interview CyborgPrime (Frank Succardi) about the upcoming Mayday Mayday 2023 online Traveller celebration.

Relevant links for this episode:

• You can find all the information about Mayday Mayday 2023 here on Frank's blog.
• Keith Frye's Go Fund Me page - https://www.gofundme.com/f/call-to-the-travellers-aid-society-for-keith-frye
• The Keith Frye memorial game will be April 29, 2023 at 1pm Central Time, and you can watch here...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrqBOk7gquA
• the Speculative Machines podcast! https://soundcloud.com/speculative-machines

In this episode we talk to Ken Patterson about the upcoming MayDay 2023 online Traveller celebration.

The yearly online MayDay celebration is one of the highpoints of the year for Traveller players, so listen and learn!

Relevant Links:

• Traveller's Aid Society (TAS) YouTube page: www.youtube.com/@travellersaidsociety ​
• TAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087385957632
• ​Fundraiser Event Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/2dQewzwkP ​​
• Mayday Celebration Games website: https://tabletop.events/conventions/mayday-traveller-online-celebration-2023

In this episode we discuss the last two "longest campaign" submissions, talk about the Parry rule in Classic Traveller Combat, go through a lot of great Internet Finds, and briefly touch on the OGL debacle. 

Relevant links:

• Our last session: https://www.gaming.concretelunch.info/itv-session-24-one-night-at-the-happy-gluck/
• Third Imperium Fanzine online archive: http://thirdimperiumfanzine.info/
• Men's Tactical Jacket, on which the fictional Scout jacket was based. https://www.wayrates.com/products/mens-all-terrain-versatile-tactical-jacket-5688118.html
• "Any Dice" website - Online dice probability calculator: https://anydice.com/
• Honor Thy Grandfather board game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/373921/honor-grandfather
• Android Arts:
  • http://androidarts.com/Traveller/Traveller.htm

  • https://twitter.com/androidarts

  • http://androidarts.com/Traveller/Traveller.htm

  • https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@androidarts

• Random Cepheus Engine Character Generator: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/407601/Random-Character-Generation-for-Cepheus-Deluxe-Enhanced-Edition
• Dumarest: the RPG: https://www.burntcitygames.com/
• The Speculative Machines podcast: https://soundcloud.com/speculative-machines

In this episode we interview Ken Patterson of the Virtual Traveller Facebook group about the upcoming online streaming game to benefit Mr. Keith Frye, one of the pillars of the Traveller community as he battles serious illness. 

Relevant links are as follows:

Static web page: www.travellercon-usa.com/fundraiser

TAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087385957632

TAS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@travellersaidsociety

Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/call-to-the-travellers-aid-society-for-keith-frye

YouTube Channel Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoKyEzc0q8Uzqi7ujoaxUWg/live

Our theme music for this episode can be found at: https://on.soundcloud.com/YfmH7

In this episode we do internet finds, rules finds (in which Bob gets even more confused about the Bribery skill in the little black books), xboat transmissions, two from our longest campaign event, and we review our own campaign 4.5 years into it. 

Relevant links:

• Maritime Executive Newsletter
• Log of the Grayswandir
• Dragon Magazine #53 (go to page 60)
• 2nd Dynasty 3D Print STLs
• Classic Traveller Harsh Beginning, by Omer Golan-Joel
• Luke Gearing's interview with Marc Miller
• "Writing Traveller Adventures Using the Hero's Journey Method" by CyborgPrime
• MegaTraveller (DGP) Adventure: Manhunt
• Traveller Facsimile Edition
• TravellerCon 2022
• Lone Star Game Expo2022
• Cepheus Journal 11

In this episode Jeff and Bob read some much appreciated email from listeners, go over from great finds from the internet, talk about some rules finds, announce the winner for the random drawing from the Longest Campaign submissions, and read the first six of the twelve submissions!

Relevant links:

• RPG Ramblings Podcast, with Jeffrey Jones
• Traveller RPG Mayday Mayday 2022 Official Event Page - from CyborgPrime
• The Log of the Grayswandir - Traveller blog by Dennis Matheson
• Stargrave - miniatures
• A Less-Travelled Road: The Three Creeps - blog entry from Omer Golan Joel
• FB post about IISS H2A Revolver and ISS ME7 Field Jacket for scouts, created by Brannon Boren
• Subsector Editor and Mapper - Cepheus Journal
• TSAO: Liberty Ship" from Stellagama Publishing, and Felbrigg's video review
• Bob's "Mesh-Plus" armor - intended to model Earl Dumarest's armored clothing
• Speculative Machines podcast - where we get our theme music

Longest Campaign Submissions

• Thomas of Kingston
  MegaTraveller w mods
  8-10 Months (detail is a bit fuzzy)

It was set in the JG Glimmerdrift Reaches on an Imperial planet (Petra). The planet was balkanized and there were many tensions among the double handful of nations but the big players were 2 or 3 larger nations. The tech level of the planet was 9, but there was another Imperial planet (TL-12) not far away. The time period was about 1114, but in this particular setting, the Solomani were pushing into the open spaces in Glimmerdrift reaches. 

It would have been a more typical game if one of the players hadn't rolled up a retired Imperial Marine who had Soc 12 (Marquis). He ended up being the Marquis of Petra and being the Imperial representative. The other characters were a mix of retired Marines, Navy, and some active duty, with one being a local noble. 

The Marquis was, to the eyes of some of his senior people, a bit erratic. So much so that his Security Chief rapidly decided that if this was what the Imperium would put in charge, the Solomani were welcome. 

That led to the Security Chief running a Solomani-sympathizer campaign against the Imperium. He was also the funnel and organizer who managed data flow to the Marquis. So on the one hand, he organized an underground flyer that regularly knew a lot about Imperial business and failures, he recruited like minded PCs and NPCs who had Solomani sympathies, and he set the Imperials against the local governments. It got worse as time went on: The high port blew up (the only GM-inflicted campaign event I can think of) and then shipments of high tech offworld arms and vehicles were sabotaged, the Marquis' family was assassinated, and a few PCs and NPCs who were Imperial sympathizers were fingered as being behind the Solomani underground (leading to their execution by the Security Chief after convincing the Marquis he needed to kill these guys who were actually  on the Marquis' side). 

In the end, the Solomani invaded, had local support, and the Marquis had to flee for his life. The Security Chief wrote a full explanation in a letter categorizing every step he took against the Marquis and how at every turn, he turned allies against the Marquis or fingered them for troublemakers, and how he managed to deflect suspicion falling upon himself by having the underground flyer make fun of the Security Chief (and the Marquis immediately felt this made him not in with the Solomani because he seemed the sort to never make himself look foolish... except that's exactly what he was doing to avoid suspicion). 

There was a lot time spent individually (because of the nature of intrigues) and there were many views and motivations that clashed, intersected, or sometimes passed like strangers in the night. 

It wasn't easy to GM. I gave the Marquis chances and enough of the other players tried to warn him or help him, but the person he most trusted was the mastermind that he should have normally suspected and that set him against those who were actually trying to help (some were playing both sides and deserved what they got....). 

I've run a fair few 8-12 month campaigns of more traditional Traveller, but this one ended up being legendary. The Security Chief's final message was done up in an X-Boat transmission....

I don't think we could do this again, but it will always live in memory of those who participated.

(2) Winner!  Mark Ayers
This first was original Traveller, the second was MegaTraveller.
Each were about three years

I have two longest campaigns. My first ran from winter 1977 until spring 1980. Our teen selves evolved the game as each new Traveller item was published and came into our possession. My next was a revival, in a new town, more than a decade later. It ran from autumn 1993 until autumn 1995. As young adults in jobs, this campaign was appreciated more and died when a classified job function of one of our key members prohibited their participation for two years.

(3) Felbrigg Herriot
Classic Traveller
Not sure exactly, but at least six months of weekly play

My longest Traveller game was a Mercenary Campaign. The PCs started as simple bodyguards, making money on the side, then they started hiring on people. Ended up with them having three ships, landers, plenty of men. (Bob - damn - this is very ambitious stuff from the players!)

Had to use a spreadsheet to track the men's injuries and promotions etc. About half way through the players got a second PC each. The original PCs became the leaders doing all the politics, admin, negotiation etc, and the new ones were boots-on-the-ground leaders.

Had some great sessions, a few with them working as guards on a passenger liner, with murders, fires, and chaos in jump. The scene of them strafing sea monsters from the beach with PGMPs as the beasts consumed holiday-makers will live with me forever. 

(4) Patrick Kanouse
Classic Traveller
2 years

I refereed a Classic Traveller for two years in college. We played a session at least once a month, and I sometimes held individual player sessions.

At the time, I was heavily influenced by Dan Simmons HYPERION, and the main villain was a version of the Shrike—albeit not as cool and very psionic based. It was also fickle, tormenting the players in Q-like ways, and designating one of the players as "the Chosen One." LOL, we still don't know what that actually meant. Nonetheless, nearly 30 years later, those former players still occasionally shout at me, "The Chosen One!" Great times.

 (5) Pete Burke
Mongoose 2e
6 months

Longest continuous campaign - I ran a Pirates of Drinax campaign for 6 months over Roll20 last year during COVID. 

(6) Neuro Lancer
Mongoose 2e
6 months

I refereed a campaign which lasted 6 months. It was a homebrew campaign using the flavor of the OTU. I used Mongoose 2nd Ed rule set. It started as a trader campaign and ended up being more mercenary-like. 

We'll learn a bit about the event's history, how it is organized, who is involved, what is going on, and most importantly -- how to keep track of it and be involved!

You can find all the links here on the official event page, on CyborgPrime's site.

Episode artwork by the legendary William H. Keith Jr. 

In this episode Jeff and Bob dig into a couple of listener emails, announce a new event, review their last Traveller Session, and dig into a tiny fraction of the greatness that is Cepheus Deluxe. 

This episode is dedicated to the great Ron Stepp, a devoted member of the Traveller community, who recently died. Ron emailed us often, and his friendship was indeed valued.

Relevant Links include:

• Ron Stepp's Art: https://moriturimax.artstation.com/
• Our "Your Longest Campaign" event submission form
• Michael Brown's "New World" cyberpunk setting and game based on Cepheus Engine
• Distress Call pdf - found on Paper Dice Games
• Marc Miller interview at Gary Con X, from Tales to Astound blog - from 2018
• The Bureaucrat career, from Ancient Faith in the Far Future blog
• Traveller Robots from Research Station Gamma resin printer files
• FASA's Starport Module Number One Hotel Complex, on DriveThru RPG
• The Miller Milk Bottle, on p16 of this pdf
• Our last Traveller Session -- To Kill A God Part 2
• Graham Spearing's review of Cepheus Deluxe, from his podcast Gaming in the First Age
• Cepheus Journal #8
• Freelance Traveller Nov/Dec 2021
• Link to all Rob Eaglestone's issues of XBOAT, on Drive-Thru
• Patrick Kanouse's writing on Black Gate
• The Speculative Machines Podcast