Did you read "=/=" as "does not equal?" Communication error seems more likely here than disagreement ...
Why are sci-fi scenarios so thin on the ground?
- Thread starter Jd Smith1
- Start date
Did you read "=/=" as "does not equal?" Communication error seems more likely here than disagreement ...
wingsandsword
Legend
Armed merchantmen used to be typical, until around 200 years ago.
Merchant (and explorer) ships were armed because of the threat of piracy. The decline of piracy in the late 18th century generally put an end to armed merchant ships.
In World War I and World War II, merchant ships were sometimes armed with at least light weapons to defend against U-boats.
Even now, the increase in piracy in the real world has lead to some ships carrying a wide assortment of non-lethal weapons to defend themselves against pirates (stun grenades, laser dazzlers, sonic weapons etc.)
The idea of space pirates is pretty typical in sci-fi, so the idea of armed private ships isn't exactly unrealistic.
The Palladium version is pretty tricky to play, but the Savage Worlds version (which I use) is definitely playable.
Off topic, feel free to PM the answer or make another thread.
Have you played both? How much "style" is lost in the transition from Palladium to Savage Worlds?
payn
Glory to Marik
Pirates of Drinax is a sandbox campaign for Mongoose Traveller. Its basically dozens of mini adventures that make up the campaign. There has also been a ton of campaign setting material for the Trojan Reach of the Third Imperium setting.
That could be a good place to look if you are trying to find a Sci-Fi campaign with lots of material.
That could be a good place to look if you are trying to find a Sci-Fi campaign with lots of material.
I suggest you go look up Ashen Stars - Gumshoe engine, so specifically designed for mysteries. And a setting where the base expectations is that the PCs are basically licensed interstellar law-enforcers for hire - they can't call the cops because they are the cops, and calling reinforcements means paying them, and upkeep of a team's FTL vessel and all their cybernetic enhancements is expensive....
Myrdin Potter
Hero
That particular boxed set (which I own) is not converted yet, but there is a decent ruleset for Fantasy Grounds for Mongoose 2e and some of the adventure content is converted over:
Mongoose Traveller 2E ruleset
Feb 22, 2025 - Mongoose Traveller 2E ruleset, the best Traveller 2E (Mongoose) VTT Ruleset by Mongoose Publishing for online or local play with the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop.
www.fantasygrounds.com
So even in Covid days, good ways to play.
dragoner
KosmicRPG.com
There is also a bunch of indie sci-fi on itch, such as with the bundle I got Lancer. Mothership as well, which I don't know if it was on the bundle. Like I said, I am rather jaded, I see publishers posting sci-fi stuff all the time, so much so that I put in rules for once a week for ads per company. Even then I miss stuff.
I can start another thread because others might be interested in the info too. I'll admit I'm not an expert on Palladium (really, who can be). But I'll share what I know about Savage Rifts.
Tun Kai Poh
Hero
There are plenty of adventures and campaigns out there if you know where to look: Eclipse Phase, Ashen Stars, Stars Without Number et al. Then there's Mothership, which has some truly good content such as Dead Planet.
I'm publishing my own space horror scenario for multiple systems, and it isn't that hard to write for provided you have a focused campaign premise (including strict limits on what the player characters are all about). "Working-class spacers" is a rich genre because it assumes the players don't have the resources to become truly powerful, and have lots of bills to pay. I mean, Firefly/Serenity and Alien are two licenses that are all about the working-class spacer!
I do feel that published adventures and campaigns may not be in such high demand for games like Traveller and Stars Without Number simply because they provide great tools for randomly generating worlds and stars, sandbox-style...but that's just a random theory of mine.
I'm publishing my own space horror scenario for multiple systems, and it isn't that hard to write for provided you have a focused campaign premise (including strict limits on what the player characters are all about). "Working-class spacers" is a rich genre because it assumes the players don't have the resources to become truly powerful, and have lots of bills to pay. I mean, Firefly/Serenity and Alien are two licenses that are all about the working-class spacer!
I do feel that published adventures and campaigns may not be in such high demand for games like Traveller and Stars Without Number simply because they provide great tools for randomly generating worlds and stars, sandbox-style...but that's just a random theory of mine.
